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Daughter 'floored' by strain of caring for parents

BBC Fred and Elizabeth Owen, sitting down, smiling at the cameraBBC
Jennifer Owen says looking after her parents Fred and Elizabeth alone has hugely affected her mental health

Social care in Wales is in crisis, and it will only get worse without proper funding, Care Forum Wales has said.

The organisation which represents over 450 care homes across the country has said without extra funding things will only get worse.

One woman said she is left "utterly depressed" after trying and failing to get the support she and her elderly parents need.

The Welsh government said it had provided funding of £113m through the local government settlement to ensure social care workers received at least the real living wage since 2022.

Five years ago, Jennifer Owen, 56, decided to move back to Llanberis, Gwynedd, from Barcelona to help take care of her parents.

Her mother Elizabeth, 86, has bowel cancer, vascular dementia and needs palliative care, while her father Fred, 87, is bedbound and incontinent.

As their conditions have deteriorated, Jennifer has begun to feel "overwhelmed".

"I've been absolutely floored by this experience," she said. "It's hugely impacted my own mental health to a very worrying degree."

Bags, bins and dirty clothing pilled up outside their house
Every day Jennifer is left with a pile of medical and human waste

Ms Owen described the routine of medicating, feeding and bathing her parents, which has gone on "all day, every day and has done for years now".

For weeks she has been asking for carers to help her, but, aside from assistance from a relative, she is yet to receive any.

Her father has been in hospital for over a week and is well enough to be sent home, yet she feels "unable to look after him" without support.

He is one of several hundred patients in Wales who are in hospital unnecessarily because they cannot get the social care they need.

"It just feels like an endless battle," Ms Owen said, describing the system as "broken".

Jennifer Owen in her living room, staring expressionlessly at the camera
Jennifer Owen cares for her elderly parents without any social care support

In a statement local council Cyngor Gwynedd said that, like so many rural local authorities, it was under significant pressure to provide and maintain services.

It also said that Llanberis was one of the areas facing the biggest challenges when it came to social care, adding that it had halved the local waiting list in the last two months.

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board said it was "acutely aware of the pressures within social care and the knock-on effects".

"It works extremely closely with its local authority partners trying to find solutions."

Mario Kreft, who runs several care homes across north Wales, said a number had people on waiting lists for a bed.

As the chair of Care Forum Wales, he warned that without extra funding things would only get worse.

"In five years we've seen 40 care homes close in Wales and only four have opened in that time - it's a real crisis," he said.

"One of the best ways to invest in our NHS is to have a supportive social care sector, and I hope the [Welsh government's upcoming] budget will ensure that happens."

Mario Kreft standing outside, smiling at the camera
"In five years we've seen 40 care homes close in Wales and only four have opened in that time - it's a real crisis," says Mario Kreft, chair of Care Forum Wales

A Welsh government spokesperson said it valued "our excellent social care workforce" and "recognised the sector's financial pressures".

"Since 2022 we have provided funding of £113m through the local government settlement to ensure our social care workers receive at least the Real Living Wage."

They added: "The new national framework for commissioning of care and support requires local authorities and health boards to support employers to improve the status, wellbeing and working conditions of health and social care workers."

The Welsh government will announce its draft budget on Tuesday.