Care crisis leaving ‘too many’ without vital help

Some older people are being left to “fend for themselves” instead of getting the care and support they need for getting out of bed, bathing, preparing meals or doing their shopping, according to Age UK.

And families who care for loved ones are being placed under “intolerable strain” because they are not receiving any assistance for their loved ones, the charity said.

Its report claims cuts to social care budgets have led to a crisis – which is only worsening with an ageing population.

Many councils are so stretched that they are only able to provide help to people whose needs are deemed to be “substantial” or “critical”. Elderly people whose needs are deemed to be “moderate” or “low” are ignored until their needs become greater, the charity said.

The report says seven in eight authorities in England only provide care if the need is deemed to be substantial, with two per cent only providing care for those in dire need, leaving people facing a “postcode lottery”.

“As council funding has come under increasing pressure, they have raised eligibility thresholds,” the report states. “This results in fewer people being able to access care services.”

Between 2005-6 and 2012-13 the number of people who received social care dropped by a quarter – despite numbers in the age group growing by more than one million, the report says.

Age UK said that despite the rising demand for care the amount spent on services has dropped by £1.2bn since 2010.

It said that since then £438m has been transferred from NHS money to local authorities. But it is unclear whether all of the money diverted to local authorities has been spent on social care, prompting calls for the Government to invest in social care in the upcoming Budget.

Caroline Abrahams, director at Age UK, said the figures were “catastrophic”.

“Older people who need help and who are now not getting it are being placed at significant risk and families who care for loved ones are experiencing intolerable strain,” she said. “If older people do not receive the care they need and as a consequence end up in A&E units and hospital wards, we have simply shifted people around the system at great financial cost and created distress and disruption for older people in the process. This makes absolutely no moral or economic sense.

“At the moment too many older people who have contributed to society throughout their lives are being left to fend for themselves when they need care and support. We cannot continue to sacrifice their safety, health and dignity.”

Liz Kendall, Labour’s shadow Minister for Care and Older People, said: “Age UK’s devastating report shows the true scale of the care crisis unfolding under this Government.

“Fewer elderly people are receiving vital services that help them get up, washed, dressed and fed.

“The failure to provide decent care and support for elderly people is simply unacceptable in the 21st century in one of the richest countries in the world.”

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb claimed an extra £1.1bn was being handed to councils to protect services.

“But both our health and social care services need to work differently to respond to the needs of our ageing population – we need to focus on keeping people well and living independently for as long as possible,” he added.

A new Better Care Fund launched next year would “allow local authorities and the NHS to invest in joined up services that prevent people from developing greater care needs in the first place”.