The home care service is under threat because of a decision to axe carers’ mileage expense from home.

That’s the view of one carer, Jane [not her real name] who contacted iomtoday.co.im.

She said carers had been ’dropping like flies’ since the expense claim was cut by the Department of Health and Social Care in February.

Five carers - one of whom had done the job for nine years - have left the operation in Douglas and she knows of four planning to leave other teams.

She knows more are actively looking for other jobs because they cannot make ends meet.

Jane, a home carer for several years, travels in her own car 15 miles from her home to the community where she works.

The mileage is twice that if she does a double shift.

The cut means she is losing £15 - or £30 on a double shift - a day.

’That’s a quarter of my wage is gone,’ she said. ’You are working to survive. I can’t afford to do any activities with my children.’

Carers earn just over £10 an hour and it’s even worse for anyone who has joined in the last year as they are paid just over £7 an hour.

She is even thinking of moving house to reduce her rent.

’I’d leave but I love my job and I feel a sense of loyalty to the service users,’ she told iomtoday.co.im.

’They become friends. The disruption is not nice for them.

’We work hard. We do shopping, nursing, personal care like washing, helping them on the toilet, reminding people with dementia to eat, to take their tablets, they are still capable of living in their home but need extra help. We are keeping them out of nursing homes and saving the government money.

’Sometimes we even do palliative care. By this stage of life we know them very well and this allows people to pass away in their own homes.

’What’s going to happen to home care? People need care. We always feel valued by the service users but this makes us all feel undervalued by whoever has made this decision. It’s worrying.

’They are worried about people leaving. Service users are getting upset. Also, what type of person will do the work for such low pay?’

Jane added: ’When they told us they said this is confidential, but I can talk to anyone I like and with the Freedom of Information anyone can find out anyway.’

Jane was prompted to talk to Isle of Man Newspapers after reading a letter from John McLaughlan, whose disabled wife receives home care, was printed in the Manx Independent on April 19.

Mr McLauglin wrote: ’Considering that the carers must use their own cars, maintain them and ensure that they are road worthy, tax and insure them all out of their own pocket, I find it hard to comprehend the government’s decision to cut this initial mileage charge especially as I am led to believe that government have been paying this for over eight years.

’If this is the case then they have set a precedent and legally I do not think that they can cut this payment.’

’Due to this cut I am aware that five carers resigned, leaving home care short-staffed.

’I am also aware that the union representative was involved with talks between home care staff and government and they discovered that the carers’ contracts weren’t worth the paper they were written on, which to me contravenes the employment regulations.

’Whoever came up with this underhanded move just to save a few hundred pounds per year should hang their head in shame.

’These carers look after the elderly and most vulnerable members of our society. They do an excellent job ensuring that the service user is in good health, and if they have any problems the carers try and resolve them before leaving.’

We asked the DHSC when the expense claim was withdrawn, how many staff had resigned, whether there had been talks with home care staff, and how much money the move was expected to make.

A DHSC spokesman said: ’The payment of mileage claims for the first trip of the day does not comply with financial regulations.

’Nobody has been sanctioned for doing so in the past, but staff have been made aware the rule is now being applied and the regulations followed. The department apologises for any difficulties caused over this issue.’