PRAISE has been heaped upon the shoulders of social services staff after they reacted speedily to a plea for help from a Felixstowe woman.Susan Cuthbert said the service reacted at once when Ipswich Hospital suddenly offered her the chance to have an operation she was waiting for – and she needed someone to look after her three young sons during the daytime.

By Richard Cornwell

PRAISE has been heaped upon the shoulders of social services staff after they reacted speedily to a plea for help from a Felixstowe woman.

Susan Cuthbert said the service reacted at once when Ipswich Hospital suddenly offered her the chance to have an operation she was waiting for – and she needed someone to look after her three young sons during the daytime.

"I get angry when I read about people having a go at the social services because they were wonderful when I needed help," said Mrs Cuthbert.

"I know all government organisations, such as the NHS and social services and others, will get things wrong or people will not be happy with them from time to time, but I thought they were marvellous and people should know that they do work hard and the system does work."

Mrs Cuthbert contacted social services after the hospital offered her the chance of an earlier operation for her hysterectomy, but it meant she would need someone to look after the children – two of whom have special needs – immediately.

Her husband, Mark, could look after them at night when he returned home from work, but there were periods during the day when a carer was needed.

With it being a major operation, she required for James, eight, Joshua, five, and Joseph, three, for some time.

"Like a lot of people, I didn't like the idea of having care arranged for my children – would they think I couldn't look after them properly?" she said.

"But I swallowed my pride and rang and they were very supportive.

"I rang one evening and they rang back the next day to find out what I needed. They then gave me a call back and said it was all arranged and they had found two childminders for the Monday morning.

"They covered taking the children to school for four to five weeks and picking them up again. They also took my youngest to the playgroup."

"When I was actually in hospital the childminders took them for the afternoon until my husband got home."

The service's help meant she had not had to wait long for the operation and had peace of mind during a difficult time.

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www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/social-services