Category Archives: Older care

Government warned on ageing society

September 29, 2013   Carers, Older care

More than three-quarters of people believe that the Government is “not ready” for the impact of an ageing population, a poll suggests.

 A poll conducted by older people’s housing and care provider Anchor found 77% did not think ministers were ready to cope with society’s changing demographics
The Ready for Ageing Alliance – which is made up of eight leading charities – called on ministers to take action after a poll conducted by older people’s housing and care provider Anchor found that 77% did not think ministers were ready to cope with society’s changing demographics.And 76% went on to say that a Cabinet member should take responsibility to ensure that the Government is preparing for an ageing society.The survey, conducted on 2,200 adults across the UK, also found that 84% of people think that more needs to be done to educate people about planning and paying for care as they get older

The news comes as figures show that the number of elderly people over the age of 90 has rocketed over the last three decades.

There has been a five-fold increase in the number of centenarians over the last three decades, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In 1981, there were just 2,420 people aged 100 and over living in England and Wales, but by 2012 the figure shot up to 12,320, the ONS said.

The figures also show that the number of pensioners aged over the age of 90 has almost tripled in three decades since 1981.

Read More

Take good care to look after the carers

September 27, 2013   Carers, family, Older care, ukcuts

Take good care to look after the carers

Judy Dench and Jim Broadbent as the novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley in the film Iris

People who dedicate themselves to looking after their loved ones should ensure they make time for themselves too, says Morag Chisholm

It is no fun being a carer. It is not a role that allows the option “I’ve had enough of this, thank you. Can I do something different now?” There are no happy endings, the cared-for are not going to get better and release is not necessarily relief. Is there a nobility about caring or is it just bloody awful?

The focus here is on the unpaid, private army, which is increasing relentlessly. Two typical scenarios are caring for a partner and caring for a parent who is slipping into dementia. These roles can have profound effects on the caring individuals concerned and on their relationships.

It is not necessary to actually live with a person to assume the caring role. Although my mother, frail and old, lived 300 miles away with paid carers looking after her, I always had an ear half cocked for that telephone call, the summons, the crisis. And when I was with her, as holiday cover, I was always alert, cat-napping, hurrying back from shopping just in case. I learned something of what caring must be like as an all-day, every day, experience. I am not sure I could do it.

Read More

4,000 care homes have been allowed to break the law

September 24, 2013   Carers, Older care, ukcuts

More than 4,000 care homes are being allowed to break the law by regulators, with no registered manager in charge of residents.

CQC chief executive David Behan

CQC chief executive David Behan Photo: REX

By , Health Correspondent

3:51PM BST 23 Sep 2013

The Care Quality Commmission (CQC) has turned a blind eye to the failing, even though its chief executive has admitted that said such homes are far more likely to be putting vulnerable people at risk.

A non-executive for the regulator described the situation as “shocking,” as the organisation announced plans for a crackdown, with criminal sanctions and fines of up to £4,000 for homes which have no-one in charge.

A report to CQC said there were currently more than 3,900 care homes without a registered manager, equivalent to two per cent of all the residential homes.

Of these about a quarter had not had a registered manager for more than two years and would be the first to be targeted.

Registered managers of care homes are supposed to be held accountable for the quality of services in care homes, and be held accountable for failings.

Read More