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Some related articles : personal care law boost for aged
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Elderly care policy 'unfair'
The elderly
are receiving "unworkable" and "unfair" care provision
in England and Wales compared to people north of the border, a leading
charity has said. From Monday,
the elderly in Scotland are entitled to free long term provision of
personal care such as help with washing, dressing and eating. However in
England and Wales, although nursing care is partly funded, personal care
is not. Help the Aged
said the disparity between different parts of Britain is unacceptable and
claims the distinction between nursing care and personal care is a false
one. The chairty
said this particularly discriminated against those with long term
conditions such as Alzheimer's, chronic arthritis and Parkinson's. Many may not
need nursing care, defined as time spent by a qualified nurse on
providing, delegating or supervising care. But they do
need care to improve the quality of their lives, said the charity. Jonathan
Ellis, health policy officer at Help The Aged, said: "The
government's long term care policy is unfair and unworkable, particularly
in light of the new situation north of the Scottish border. 'Massive
confusion' "Help
the Aged is pleased that the Scottish Parliament has recognised that free
personal care is no less than older people deserve, and no less than a
caring society should provide. "We urge
Westminster to swallow its pride and do the same for England and
Wales." The charity
said a government policy which allows for such disparities in care across
Britain in an ageing population is flawed. And it said
the common distinction made between nursing care and personal care was
misleading. The charity
said there was also massive confusion about how new rules on long term
care work. A Department
of Health spokeswoman said the Government had accepted recommendations of
the Royal Commission on Long Term Care except over the provision of free
personal care. She said the
government had provided £320m over two years to provide NHS funding for
care previously paid for by the patient. "Seven
out of 10 people already get some or all of their personal care costs paid
for by the state," she said. She said the
distinction between nursing and personal care was fully debated when the
Health and Social Care Act 2001 passed through Parliament. And she added Alzheimer's sufferers often required care from a registered nurse. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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