Growing Number' of Pensioners Forced to Find and Fund their Own Care, Watchdog Warns 

www.telegraph.co.uk

January 27, 2009

United Kingdom

Many who have modest savings are being "lost to the system" because they do not qualify for state funding for nursing home accommodation or home help, nor even assistance with finding support. 

A key report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection estimates that older people are forced to spend £6billion a year of their own money – often through selling family homes or raiding inheritance funds – in order to pay for their care in retirement. This represents more than a third of the £16.5bn spent by councils on adult social care in 2006-7. 

The report says that standards in nursing homes and support for the poorest and most needy elderly and disabled people are improving. 

But a means-testing system prevents anyone with more than £22,250 in assets from receiving free care, while councils are allowed to restrict assistance to only those with the most severe needs in order to cut costs. 

The watchdog, which regulates nursing homes, warns that the situation is likely to worsen in the recession as local authorities look to make more savings as demand increase, and as pensioners struggle to meet the bills. 

The number of older people living permanently in care homes who are supported by councils fell by 14 per cent in the five years to March 2008, to reach 231,000, it is claimed, leaving 118,000 to pay for their own accommodation and nursing care. 

The proportion who receive home help and day care services has also dropped, and councils are employing 7,000 fewer staff to work in social care than they did in 2006-7. This means pensioners must rely on family and friends to act as carers, or pay for support themselves. 

Meanwhile, one in five of the older people who are given help by councils have been placed in care homes rated "poor" or "adequate" by the watchdog. 

In its final annual report before it is amalgamated into a health and social care "super-watchdog" called the Care Quality Commission, the CSCI also claimed that too many people are given a "one-size-fits-all" service rather than being treated as individuals. 

In a joint foreword to the study, the chairman of the CSCI, Dame Denise Platt, and its chief inspector, Paul Snell, wrote: "For people who are entitled to receive services, the care they receive is, in general, better than it has ever been. 

"However, the number of people who have to find and fund their own care is growing. 

"And this is a significant gap between the aspiration that everyone should receive individualised advice and support to help them make decisions about their care, and people's real experiences." 

The Shadow Health Minister, Stephen O’Brien, added: "This report makes clear that Labour have completely failed to deliver on the promise Tony Blair made 11 years ago to end the situation whereby taxpayers have to sell their homes in order to be able to fund their long-term care. 

“The Government has repeatedly pledged to take action, but there has been little more than warm words. Their latest idea seems to be nothing more than to kick the issue into the long grass to save them from making any real decisions before the next general election. 

However Phil Hope, the Care Services Minister, insisted: "Social care is better now than it has ever been. More people are being helped to live independently in their own homes, in control of their own services. The quality of residential care has also improved, with 87 per cent of councils rated with either two or the full three stars. 

"However I want us to press forward with further improvements. We are investing over £500million to tailor more services to individual needs. We will help councils spread best practice quickly so that more can share the benefits of personalising services." 

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