A recent survey by the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) shows that 89 percent of adults in the UK feel that older and disabled people shouldn’t have to pay for support with everyday tasks such as eating, washing, and dressing; regardless of whether they have small amounts of savings or not.
Currently, if a person in need of care has savings of up to and more than £23,500 and needs to pay for help with things like eating, washing, dressing and leaving the house, the full costs of their care services are demanded.
When an home-owning elderly person has to move to a residential facility because they can’t support themselves any more, the price of their house will be calculated as savings and could be lost in their social care costs.
A poll also conducted by the organisation revealed that 68 percent of older and disabled people who need help with daily tasks are not getting enough support, even when it has been paid for. The Dilnot Commission's report, conducted last year, suggests that there should be a limit of £35,000 to the amount a person would have to pay towards their own care costs.
Simon Gillespie, chairman of the Care and Support Alliance, says:
“The clear message from the recent poll is that the current system of unlimited costs for care is unacceptable.
“This extra weight to our call to the government for urgent reform of the social care system, which leaves too many vulnerable members of society without the support they need will also become terrified when faced with spiralling health costs.”
The CSA have waited patiently for the government to publish their new reform bill for social care that will outline changes in the costs for care, for the elderly and disabled.
Simon Gillespie said:
“The longer they hold off reform plans, the longer that older and disabled people and their families continue to go without the support they badly need in order to live decent, dignified lives.”
The organisation has demanded that the government’s funding process report into long-term care should be published before the parliamentary summer recess this year, so parliament decided to release the new reform bill this week.
Hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people who are in much need for reform in social care were relying on positive changes to the current system from the government’s new bill. But they have only found that instead of paying the £35,000 limit proposed by Dilnot for care costs, the Health Secretary has released a bill saying that they will have to borrow money plus interest from councils. This will then need to be paid back by taking the inheritance, such as savings and property owned by the person after their death, from possible family members who have been left it in a will.
In response to the bill, Dot Gibson, General Secretary of the National Pensioners’ Convention said:
“Under these proposals people will still end up selling their homes to pay for care, the only difference will be, that it will be done after they have died”.
The scheme will be introduced in April 2015. Many may perceive it as “death tax” which will rob people of their inheritance and cause great discomfort for those who need social care.
Written by Tim Baker
Care and Support Alliance. http://careandsupportalliance.wordpress.com
