Elderly care is already in crisis
Why we must all open our eyes to the longevity timebomb
Last updated at 6:19 PM on 24th January 2012
I was catapulted into the parallel universe of geriatric care a few years ago, when my father was struck by a little understood and highly unpredictable form of dementia.
I won’t pretend that I wasn’t shocked: at the score of under-resourced and poorly maintained care homes we inspected, at the patronising and casual disrespect with which Dad was treated in hospital; at the irritability, exhaustion and patent disinterest of the social workers with whom I tried to raise extremely serious issues of neglect and abuse.
Like many of my generation, I have now had that baptism of fire. I am no longer shocked by the raft of stories that emerge almost daily about the systemic neglect of our frail and vulnerable elderly citizens who worked all their lives in the expectation that the generations which followed them would ensure that they enjoyed a safe and comfortable old age.
I am, however, shocked that society continues to ignore the longevity time bomb which one day will affect us all personally. Countless stories on this very forum have shown recently how regulation of care providers is patchy and ineffective; support services, already under pressure, are being cut further while safeguarding of vulnerable adults falls by the wayside.
Over the next 20 years, the number of UK citizens over the age of 85 is set to double. By 2034, a predicted 23 per cent of the population will be 65 and over. Yet in 2012, we are already struggling to provide decent care for the number of elderly citizens we already have.
Elderly care does not merely need reform; it is in dire and utter crisis. Somehow, we can conjure up billions needed for a new high-speed rail link; yet we apparently cannot find the wherewithal, nor, it seems, the will, to look after our senior citizens with the civility and dignity they so richly deserve. I cannot help thinking that we have lost our priorities along the way.
A new report by the Commons health select committee has revealed how a third of cash-strapped councils have raised fees for residential care homes over the last months, while four out of five councils have placed stricter criteria and restrictions on services which were previously free, such as meals on wheels and other support mechanisms, from home helps to free stair lifts, which enable frail older people to continue living within their community.
According to Andrew Cozens, of the Local Government Group, representing councils, the system is close to collapse and is now reacting as a crisis service. He told MPs on the committee: “That is a trend that I anticipate will continue”. Charity Age UK estimates that more than 800,000 vulnerable seniors who need care now get no formal support whatsoever.
So what is the government actually doing about this crisis? Apart, that is, from coming up with controversial, suspiciously knee-jerk proposals to get older people to sell their homes and downsize. Thus, one simple move would release much-needed equity to fund their own care and help out with the housing crisis in one fell swoop. It may look good on paper but I have no idea how on earth it is going to be implemented.
It is now more than six months since economist Andrew Dilnot published the results of his independent Commission on Funding of Care and Support. Dilnot stressed that the current funding system was confusing, unfair and simply unsustainable. His report recommended a cap of £35,000 on and individual’s lifetime contributions to their own care costs with an annual cap on costs for food and accommodation in care homes of £10,000.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley initially gave the Dilnot proposals a cautious welcome but has since appeared to backtrack, insisting that the government needs to consider very carefully the significant predicted costs entailed in Dilnot’s reforms, which could cost as much as £2 billion pounds to implement.
Meanwhile, cross party talks on the reform of the elderly care system are reportedly being bogged down due to lingering distrust, whatever that may be, between Mr Lansley and Labour Health spokesman Andy Burnham. A white paper on social care and a progress report on funding are apparently still due to be published in April. This means that there is no hope of seeing any statutory reform in elderly care before 2014, at the very earliest.
In other news, MPs have been complaining about the appalling standard of the food served in the Commons. Many were so incensed they put their complaints in writing. These included wails about soggy chips, watery scrambled eggs and measly soup bowls, not to mention the salami which isn’t sliced to the requisite thinness.
The Parliamentary catering service is subsidized with nearly £6 million of tax payers’ money. As I said above, somehow I cannot help thinking that we have lost sight of our priorities along the way.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/
