Tech mess leaves some disabled people unable to pay for care

Munaja Rafiq

Disability news maker

Anne Preidmore employs five people for 24 -hour care and is worried that they will not be paid at the end of the month

Anne Preridmore Anne is sitting in her electric wheelchair, staring at the camera directly with a light smile. He is wearing a bottle of green cardigan and examined trousers. Her dos is in the picture which is the head in Anne's lap. — Anne Preidmore employs five people for 24 -hour care and is worried that they will not be paid at the end of the month

Some disabled people have been left unable to pay for their care due to a mess in the funding system used by the councils in the UK.

Technical issues mean some carers and individual assistants have not been paid for more than a week.

A woman using wheelchairs said that she had “left weak people and essential workers in Limbo”.

The system that runs the system, prepaid Financial Services (PFS) apologized and said it was working to “fix the situation as soon as possible”.

Many local officials provide funds for those who qualify for support by issuing pre-paid cards, which recipients can use to pay for care.

Many disabled people use money to hire care workers or individual assistants, meaning that they become employers.

A local government association (LGA) spokesman said that the local councils are working hard to provide alternative payment options.

It states that the councils are working to ensure continuity of care, “especially for those who are the highest levels of level”.

Anne Preridmore, who runs a network for Disables people, is called a boss, appoints five individual assistants for round-the-lock care at her home in lecester.

The cost of care is £ 11,000 per month and is funded by the Lesser County Council via pre-paid cards.

She told the BBC that she was concerned about the consequences of not being able to reach the funds, as she could not tolerate it otherwise.

“If they are not paid, my employees can take me to court,” he said. “I am his employer, so the deer stops with me.”

Ms. Preridmore said that she was disappointed and angry.

“This service is leaving blackouts and essential workers in Limbo, leaving without any viable option”.

The Lecesterresires County Council said that about 3,500 people held pre-paid cards in the county, but not all of them would be affected by the “national” issue.

A council spokesperson told the BBC that it had reached those who were “influenced by support and advice if they need to be paid and to ensure that alternative arrangements are in place”.

The statement said, “We appreciate the difficulties that have happened to it and whatever we can help are doing everything.”

Bradford’s Nicola, who asked the BBC not to report his second name, is a full-time carer for his daughter, who has many disabled who require round-the-clock-care.

She first saw that she could not log in to her payment account on 14 July.

Her daughter also has six other carefuls, and she said that the result was thought to demand alternative work.

“I will need to be awake 24 hours a day, which is not possible and this would mean my daughter would be a housebound because I would not support her to take her out,” she said.

The BBC has approached the Bradford Council for a response.

Sophie Viters, a personal assistant to the MoreComb who were in contact through BBC Your voice, your BBC news, Weekly paid and said that he was £ 720 last week as customers were unable to pay him.

“My fare was going to be on Saturday, so I was really nervous till Thursday,” she said.

Sophie Viters Sophie has wavy blonde hair that is pulled on her right shoulder. She is staring at the camera wearing a direct pink work uniform. — Sophie Viters is worried

The MS Viters were able to receive emergency payments from their local authority, but said that this week was not an option as it was a one -time gesture.

“I hope it is resolved quickly. I don’t want me if I cannot pay, think about what happens.”

“I need to pay for petrol which is required for work, I need to supply [personal protective equipment] And to pay for food and bills. ,

A spokesman for the Lancashire County Council said that more than 100 councils and NHS bodies were likely to be influenced by the technical issue.

,[PFS] The council has assured that they are all working immediately to restore functionality, “he said.

“We are using our local communication to ensure that service users and their families know how to get help.”

In a statement sent to the BBC on Wednesday afternoon, the PFS stated that the core services have been largely restored “and customer funds” remain safe and fully preserved “.

It said that some of its programs “rely on an external payment processor” but were in the process of transferring “in-house processing infrastructure”.

“We regret honestly inconvenience and appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our customers and card holders,” said this.

“This decision was made under exceptional circumstances, reflecting our deep commitment to protect our customers and ensure long -term service flexibility.”

The LGA stated that the issues began by PFS recently after a platform migration, and it was aware of the issues affecting several councils using the system for direct payment of social care.