Man cancels care from council as costs jump 550%

A man has cancelled his council-provided palliative care after the costs rose by 550% due to a miscalculation.

Steven Kelynack, from Rye, said he received a letter from East Sussex County Council (ESCC) telling him his care plan contribution would jump from £64.88 to £421.72 a month.

The 58-year-old, who needed three carer visits every day, chose to cancel his care, but it meant his wife Jackie might need to reduce her working hours.

ESCC said there was a miscalculation of Mr Kelynack's allowances which meant he should have been contributing more towards the cost of his care. Despite this, the council said it would not be asking him to make up the shortfall from the previous year.

Mr Kelynack, who required care following a spinal injury and complications from Covid, said he already owed the council £3,000 and only had £1,000 in savings.

"To be told now that we are expected to now pay over £105 a week, it's a shock to the system because my savings, and our savings, went in between when I had the back problems," he said.

Ms Kelynack said she was worried about the future.

"We were comfy when we first come down [to Rye], but now we're having to watch every penny to get us through a week," she said.

The council apologised for informing Mr Kelynack about the increase by letter, as there was meant to be a phone call, but said they had tried to contact him to explain the situation.

A ESCC spokesperson added: "Where people feel their contributions are unaffordable, we can carry out a financial hardship assessment to check where any further allowances can be applied.

"Our appeal process is also open to anyone who feels the correct process for calculating contributions has not been followed."

The council said it was planning to talk to Mr Kelynack to check he has listed all his allowances.

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