A national care service has the potential to make a huge difference for people needing care in Cornwall.
Today, the Care Quality Commission reported on Cornwall's adult social care, placing it in the bottom eight out of 148 local authorities. The care provided is 'adequate' - no authorities are providing 'poor' care - and this rating has not changed since last year's report.
Behind every official report like this there are people receiving less good care than each of us would wish for our loved ones. One of the issues highlighted is the lack of integration between Cornwall's NHS and social care services. There are some similarities here with the concerns about child protection, in that it relates to improving communication and response to care needs.
The Council committee responsible for scrutinising these services (the local NHS and adult social care) is the Committee whose chairman recently called an 'emergency' meeting to discuss the issue of upper GI services which has already been under discussion for over a year partly because the Council did not refer it for consultation when it was first raised.
The Council needs to grasp the nettle here and set in train improvements in Cornwall's adult social care, as they are already doing through the Government led improvement Board for children's services.
Their 4.5 per cent increase in funding for next year needs applied to our major services. Now is not the time to be looking to make cuts given the savings achieved as a result of the switch to a unitary authority.
Showing posts with label social care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social care. Show all posts
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Free personal care at home
No-one who listens to older people in Cornwall can be unaware that many fear needing everyday care, and worry about what this might mean for them and their families. People fear major illness, but the NHS means that in the UK this fear is not about how to pay for care that is needed. In contrast, at the moment, personal savings and - for the three out of four people who are home-owners - the value of a person's home are drawn into the calculation of how individual social care is funded.
Labour's personal care at home bill will enable adults with high levels of assessed care needs, who want to continue living in their own homes with the support they need, to do so free of charge. It is a first step towards creating a national care service like the NHS - free at the point of need, and free of worry about how care that is needed is going to be paid for.
In Cornwall, more than half the population are over the age of 55. There are many people who need care and support to continue living in their own homes. Dementia affects a growing number of people, with almost 8,000 people with Alzheimer's living in Cornwall. I recently attended a carers' meeting to learn more about dementia, local care services and support, and the impact that dementia has on sufferers, carers, and their families.
We are fortunate to have vocal and determined local groups advocating a better deal for people with disabilities. While creating a national care service is applauded as the right principle, people want to know 'what's this going to mean for me?', and - if they already receive care and support - 'will this be better or worse for me than current arrangements?' Both the Disabilities Living Allowance and the Attendance Allowance give people living at home and in need of care freedom to create care arrangements which suit their personal circumstances - and free to decide whether and when everyday care is provided by family, friends, and professionals. It is that freedom of individual choice that advocates hope to see continue in the new system. Following discussion with local campaigners, I've already written on their behalf to Secretary of State Andy Burnham MP.
This morning, I was interviewed by a local community radio station about the changes announced in the Queen's speech.
Given the number of local people this issue affects, the Liberal Democrats showed how seriously out of touch they really are by suggesting the Queen's speech "contained none of the key measures necessary to help residents in Cornwall". A Party that has previously called for free care for the elderly, in an area where a majority of electors are over 55, made no mention of Labour's plans for free personal care at home. Perhaps that's because they've abandoned their own previous manifesto pledge to free personal care for the elderly.
The Tories have been equally political and opportunist, scare-mongering that future arrangements would not provide the same level of support for people who currently receive DLA and Attendance Allowance - in fact, Government Ministers have already provided an assurance that they will. So far, the only Tory promise is that they will make people pay £8000 for needed care - that's £16,000 for a couple; and force people off incapacity benefit, many of whom have mental health difficulties.
Labour's personal care at home bill will enable adults with high levels of assessed care needs, who want to continue living in their own homes with the support they need, to do so free of charge. It is a first step towards creating a national care service like the NHS - free at the point of need, and free of worry about how care that is needed is going to be paid for.
In Cornwall, more than half the population are over the age of 55. There are many people who need care and support to continue living in their own homes. Dementia affects a growing number of people, with almost 8,000 people with Alzheimer's living in Cornwall. I recently attended a carers' meeting to learn more about dementia, local care services and support, and the impact that dementia has on sufferers, carers, and their families.
We are fortunate to have vocal and determined local groups advocating a better deal for people with disabilities. While creating a national care service is applauded as the right principle, people want to know 'what's this going to mean for me?', and - if they already receive care and support - 'will this be better or worse for me than current arrangements?' Both the Disabilities Living Allowance and the Attendance Allowance give people living at home and in need of care freedom to create care arrangements which suit their personal circumstances - and free to decide whether and when everyday care is provided by family, friends, and professionals. It is that freedom of individual choice that advocates hope to see continue in the new system. Following discussion with local campaigners, I've already written on their behalf to Secretary of State Andy Burnham MP.
This morning, I was interviewed by a local community radio station about the changes announced in the Queen's speech.
Given the number of local people this issue affects, the Liberal Democrats showed how seriously out of touch they really are by suggesting the Queen's speech "contained none of the key measures necessary to help residents in Cornwall". A Party that has previously called for free care for the elderly, in an area where a majority of electors are over 55, made no mention of Labour's plans for free personal care at home. Perhaps that's because they've abandoned their own previous manifesto pledge to free personal care for the elderly.
The Tories have been equally political and opportunist, scare-mongering that future arrangements would not provide the same level of support for people who currently receive DLA and Attendance Allowance - in fact, Government Ministers have already provided an assurance that they will. So far, the only Tory promise is that they will make people pay £8000 for needed care - that's £16,000 for a couple; and force people off incapacity benefit, many of whom have mental health difficulties.
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