Older people ignored as services are planned

Researchers from Hull-York Medical School interviewed people judged to be in the last year of their lives suffering from conditions including lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.

They found many felt after a lifetime of work and paying taxes that they were entitled to services funded by the state.

This was in contrast to the direction of Government policy which is likely to see individuals being asked to shoulder a greater burden for their care in old age.

Senior lecturer Barbara Hanratty, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, said changes to existing funding arrangements would be unpopular with a group that had paid their taxes with an expectation of comprehensive services.

She said: “People who are old, unwell and from disadvantaged areas are least likely to be heard in the debate on welfare funding.

“Indeed, the voices of older people with high support needs on what they would want and value in their social care have been described as ‘so quiet as to be practically silent’.

“The views expressed by participants in our study suggest that some of the silent voices may be dissenting and out of line with current government thinking.”

The study found those interviewed felt people should contribute to the costs of their social care if they were able but this did not extend to selling assets or using savings to pay for residential care.

“These older people felt that a lifetime of tax contributions should represent an obligation fulfilled,” Dr Hanratty said.

“Such strong support for taxpayer-funded social care grounded in values of mutuality and earned entitlement through long working lives is striking.”

A landmark commission last year recommended people should contribute more to the soaring costs of their care in old age, although with a cap on lifetime contributions.

Ministers are due to give their response later this year.