This week there have been 2 reports released which cover the standards of care given to elderly residents in Britain today. The first published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission covers the basic rights of the elderly who receive care in the home and the findings make worrying reading.
Equality and human rights commissioner Baroness Sally Greengross said : “The emphasis is on saving pennies rather than providing a service which will meet the very real needs of our grandparents, our parents, and eventually all of us.” Source:Equalityhumanrights.com
Secondly this week an Age UK report revealed four out of five councils deny free care such as home helps, meals on wheels or the installation of mobility products to all but those with the most serious health needs.This means that even if you have a disability or long term illness or condition like arthritis or Parkinson’s disease, you may not receive any funding help from the council if there are other residents who have multiple conditions or illnesses, who applied for a grant before you did.This seems unfair for those who have low savings as being means-tested each lift can only be considered for funding at all if you have less than £6,000 in savings. So, even if you don’t have the funds, but do have a medical condition, it still means you might have to wait longer for a piece of equipment to be funded.This is the reason why some families have bought one on hire purchase in order to get the user of the lift the right support to be able to live at home. If you want information on this option including 0% APR please get in touch.If you want help with caring for a relative at home you can look into receiving adirect payment from the local authorityto help you. Please see the video below for information on direct payments.Have you seen evidence of cuts in services to you, your family or someone you know? Let us know in the comments.
