A woman who is registered disabled says she was left bedridden and without food and drink for more than 24 hours because of the failings of a care company.

It was the last straw for Clare Campbell, 42, from Melksham, who suffers from somatisation disorder, a condition where she has mini strokes which can paralyse her body from the neck down for up to six hours.

Cooking, cleaning and day-to-day chores are a struggle for the former estate agent.

Wiltshire Council and its social services pay for Mi Home Care, in Melksham, to help her at her home in Chadwick Close, Bowerhill.

But Miss Campbell, who has been receiving help from the company for nearly a year, is disappointed with the standard of care given. She should be visited three times a day, but on one occasion was left so long she had to crawl downstairs for a drink.

She said: “Some days, I can’t feel the use of my legs. I had a carer in at 11am and no-one came until 11am the next day. I was left without any drinks, food, nothing.”

She is worried that her care plan outlines medication she takes three times a day, but fails to state her condition or what carers should do when she suffers a seizure.

Miss Campbell said: “One carer came when the paramedics had been to see me at 2pm. I was asleep upstairs, probably in a seizure.

“She didn’t wake me up and the next carer didn’t come until 6am the next day.

"It’s not the carers’ fault. They don’t understand my condition.”

Miss Campbell’s main issue is a perceived lack of communication and she says she has lost count of the number of times she has called the company.

Now she wants to speak out on behalf of people using the firm who are not able to, or who are afraid to do so, and has contacted social services and the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission.

This week, the CQC said a report on its investigation was due out next month, adding: “Our visit began on January 16 and we have been talking to staff and clients, continuing later this week.”

Miss Campbell said: “I’m well enough to see what’s happening, but I worry about the wellbeing of elderly people using this service who aren’t getting the care they need.”

Mi Home Care said: “We have been in touch with Miss Campbell. We are investigating this and it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment.”