Kirkcaldy man hits out at £3231 care charge

A KIRKCALDY man has hit out at Fife Council after being landed with a £3231 bill for care he claims he did not receive.

Alan Smith (54), of Seaforth Place was sent a demand for £3231.25 for 25 weeks of home care. He says the sum is inaccurate, based on an inflated number of hours compared to those he received.

Mr Smith suffers from hereditary spastic paraplegia and uses a mobility scooter to get about.

He lives independently in the Kirkcaldy community with the help of home carers and housing support workers.

The bill states Mr Smith gets 11.75 hours of service a week, compared to just seven hours and 45 minutes he insists he actually receives.

He said: “I cannot believe that the social work services who are supposed to be there to support and care for me are treating me so badly.

“They have inflated the amount of hours I receive and because I will not agree to a financial assessment until they sort out their mistakes, they are holding me liable for £129.25 a week.”

The figure, which covers Mr Smith until April 3 next year, is based on estimates after a dispute arose about the number of hours of care he requires.

Former piano tuner Mr Smith, who previously worked for the Council, will not allow a financial assessment to be carried out until these issues are resolved.

He contacted the Campaign Against Charges and Cuts (CACC) group in a bid to sort out the problem.

Maureen Closs of CACC said: “Fife Council is refusing to have a proper review of Alan’s needs as laid down by their own policy.

“If this were to be completed correctly, they would see that they are working from old records and figures.

“In addition to this Alan would not have anything like this to pay once an assessment of his income is carried out but this cannot be done until the hours are agreed.

“Social work say that because he is refusing to cooperate with them, he is to pay for this fictitious service.”

Fife Council support service manager Bill Leiper said the time allocated to Mr Smith reflects the care and support services that he has been assessed as requiring.

He added: “These services have been in place for a number of years.

“Despite a number of communications with Mr Smith regarding this matter, he has not provided the necessary information to allow a financial assessment to be completed.

“He has therefore been issued with an invoice for the full cost of his care and support for the period October 2010 to March 2011.

“He has also been advised of the payment options that are open to him.

“When Mr Smith provides the necessary financial information we will be able to assess the level of contribution he should be making to his care and support costs.”