Care crisis: How carers let couple in 90s live how they want

A married couple in their 90s have described how their network of independent carers is essential to their daily life.

Eric Jones, 97, and his wife Lina, 95, live near Kilgetty in Pembrokeshire.

They receive 24-hour care from a charity that co-ordinates dozens of local independent care providers.

Pembrokeshire based Planed said it believes projects like this are a "vital part of the solution" to the current care crisis.

Eric said the support they receive is invaluable as he and his wife can no longer do things they used to do.

"When you get old, and if you're alone, it's a very welcoming thing when you know that somebody is coming in at a certain time," he said.

"The people who look after me are special."

The network - made up of more than 50 independent carer providers in Pembrokeshire - assist the couple with daily tasks.

For instance, Eric is not safe on his feet, so needs help with showering.

"I wouldn't be able to stay here without the help. I'd have to go and live elsewhere."

Planed chief executive Iwan Thomas said the aim of the charity is to "get people out of beds in hospitals and care homes".

"I think with the current crisis we have nationally in health and social care, projects such as this which are created and embedded in our communities are vital and part of the solution," added Mr Thomas.

People can access Planed's services either by paying for their own care, or - if they are assessed as having an eligible need of care - via direct payments from the council.

The charity said demand for care services is so high that it is now expanding into Carmarthenshire.

Faced with an ageing population and a care sector struggling to meet the rising demand more people are looking at different ways of dealing with care.

In Pembrokeshire, and in other counties across Wales, micro care businesses are one way of dealing with the waiting list.

In the three months to the end of last year 10 new micro care businesses were set up in Pembrokeshire, bringing the total to 57. Most are self-employed carers.

The project aims to save more than £300,000 a year from current public sector providers in supporting individuals, and provide about 500 hours of care per week.

Rachel Bartlett, who set up her own care company Care4U after working for 10 years in the health service, now helps look after Eric and Lina.

"My day is very varied, sometimes we chat and enjoy companionship, sometimes it is personal care, or making food and cleaning. Whatever they need I am here for."

Ms Bartlett said the network of small care companies helps to give people options when it comes to care and takes pressure off the health and care sectors.

"We have a lot of referrals come through with people who have been discharged from hospital and they are in crisis, and all the micros pull together and ultimately help to avoid readmission," she said.