A NEWPORT woman claims her bed-ridden mother-in-law is just one of many left who were left without vital care and support after a care package was cancelled at short notice.

Juls Benson says that her mother-in-law Rosalind, 76, who has been receiving care services at her home from ND Care and Support for the last two years, was "left lying in bed, not knowing what was going on" after her provision was cancelled.

She says the decision was made by Newport City Council - although the council disputes this.

ND Care and Support cover areas across Wales, providing carers to visit and support people in their own homes.

The team in Gwent who care for Ms Benson's mother-in-law had been facing staff shortages due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"They (ND) asked Newport City Council for help over the Christmas period," said Ms Benson

"All the residents who receive their care got a call to say that the care package had been stopped.

"The agency knew nothing.

"People who receive their care rang the company upset."

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She said that ND Care and Support had phoned the council, who told them that the package had been "cancelled as of today (December 23)."

"We’re talking about people who are bed-ridden," she said.

"I don’t know how many other residents are lying in bed with no carer and not knowing what’s going on.

"It's shocking, ND staff are now out of a job too. They've lost a week's wages."

However, Newport City Council say that the cancellation of ND Care's care package is a short-term measure based upon staffing issues and the lack of agency cover.

A spokesperson said: "Newport City Council did not cancel the contact with ND Care and Support.

"The agency notified the council that they were handing back a number of care packages with immediate effect due to staffing issues.

"We explored whether it would be possible for them to use agency staff to backfill their rotas in the short-term, but this was not feasible.

"As a result, we had no other option but to find another domiciliary care agency to ensure vulnerable residents were not left without any care.

"When the company’s staffing situation improves, there will undoubtedly be new offers of packages of care given the constant demand.

"We recognise that a change of carer can be upsetting for those involved and it is something we try to avoid but there is significant pressure on the capacity of domiciliary care at the moment because of the pandemic."