Sir - There is no social care/rapid response package set up in the Witney area to support carers, to help them cope at home, when they are discharged from hospital needing cardiac rehabilitation.

In September, my husband (heart patient and carer for myself and our son) had a heart attack and was admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital A & E department. He was advised the hospital did not have an empty bed, so was admitted to a side ward of A & E on a trolley linked up to a heart monitor, where he spent a very uncomfortable couple of days, waiting to go into the operating theatre for cardiac surgery. After surgery he was transferred to level five private patients' ward (he does not have private insurance) but was told it was the only empty bed in the JR.

The SPARC team based at the JR had been advised by the ward staff that my husband is a cardiac patient and a carer and would need rapid response help from Social Care to help him cope at home for the first few weeks of cardiac rehabilitation. He would be unable to perform the basic household tasks to keep him in a clean home environment, which for health and safety reasons, is necessary to prevent infection.

On discharge from hospital the staff nurse contacted the SPARC team to ask what had Social Care set up to help him at home? They asked her: "Can he walk, can he feed himself, can he wash himself and can his wife walk? If so there is no Social Care help available, we do not do household cleaning." This is shameful.

I believe Social Service Care at home have failed in their duty of care to provide rapid response emergency help to carers and the chronically sick in times of crisis, because they do not receive adequate funds from the county to do so.

Jenny Bull (Mrs), Long Hanborough