Systemic problems forcing older people into care, says Wales commissioner

Sarah Rochira said bad planning over hospital discharges and a lack of communication between the NHS and local services left some with no choice.

About 23,000 older people are in residential care homes in Wales.

The Welsh government said it was prioritising funding to councils to support social services.

Ms Rochira told The Wales Report on BBC Wales that some older people were not getting the information and advice they needed to enable them to stay at home.

“Start Quote

It was only through a fluke conversation with a social worker that I got the information I needed”

MS Information Afternoon

MS Information Afternoon – North Norfolk

Saturday 3rd November 2012
at Pinewood Park Leisure Centre, Holt Road, Upper Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8TU
1.00pm to 4.00pm
hosted by
The MS Society North Norfolk Branch
You are invited to join us to hear about the wide range of support and
service available for local people affected by MS.

Care bills will soak up most of our savings

A rising number of elderly people face losing “almost all of their wealth” to pay for social care, after the Government admitted it was “unable to commit” to reforming the system.

By , Political Correspondent

In a stark assessment of the growing crisis in elderly care, a government report warns that the country may not be able to afford to fund a cap on care costs for a rapidly expanding ageing population.

The report, released this week, depicts a bleak picture of the future, with a growing number of pensioners slipping into poverty as they use up their savings to fund care and rely on friends and family for help. It lays bare the scale of the task facing ministers and will increase the pressure on David Cameron to address the issue.

An official review of the social care system published last year recommended that the Coalition should introduce a cap of £35,000 on the maximum amount that people have to pay towards a nursing home.