October 2016
no.242 • £4.75 incorporating The Number One magazine for the care sector
Elderly paying price for cuts to social care
By Dominic Musgrave
THE care and support older people receive increasingly depends on where they live and how much money they have rather than their needs, according to a new report by The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust. Six consecutive years of cuts to local authority budgets, rising demand for services and shortages of staff have left the social care system increasingly unable to meet the needs of the older people who depend on it. The report finds that this is placing an unacceptable burden on unpaid carers and is leaving rising numbers of older people who have difficulty with the basic activities of daily living – such as washing, dressing and getting out of bed – without any support at all. The report highlights evidence that reductions in fees paid by local authorities and other cost pressures such as the National Living Wage are squeezing the incomes of residential and home care providers. It warns that an increasing number are likely to leave the market or go out of business as a result, potentially leaving older people without the care they depend on. The squeeze on the budgets of
care providers is also prompting some providers in affluent areas to step back from providing care for people funded by local authorities, leaving those who depend on council funding reliant on an increasingly threadbare safety net. At the same time, more people are having to pay for their own care as a result of cuts to local authority services. NCA chairman, Nadra Ahmed OBE, believes that in addition to the financial dilemma this is a potentially crippling issue for social care where the need for registered managers, qualified nurses and auxiliary workforce is one of its biggest challenges. She added: “Provider confidence in their ability to deliver quality care services to some of the most vulnerable people in our society, people with ever increasing and complex health and social care needs is being undermined. “We are fearful that one of the greatest unintended consequences of national and local government policy relating to social care will create a two-tier care system. “Providers are beginning to recognise that to maintain standards they will need to explore the option of having exclusively privately funded clients, which would leave a huge gap for commissioners to grapple with.”
Residents tuned into DJs after studio tour
An 89-year-old resident at Hanover Gardens in Nailsworth has received a long-awaited service medal at a ceremony at the Russian Embassy in London. Ken Robinson was presented with the Medal of Ushakov in recognition of the role he played in the treacherous Artic Convoys which ferried vital arms and supplies to Britain’s Soviet allies during the Second World War. The convoys were described by Sir Winston Churchill as the “worst journey in the world”. Ken said: “I was delighted to receive the medal after all this time and it was lovely to go to the Russian Embassy with my daughter Veronica, son in law Hugh and grandson Oliver.”
RESIDENTS from a Lymington care home turned DJs for the day when they visited New Forest Hospital Radio. The party from Colten Care’s Belmore Lodge had the chance to introduce tunes for the next broadcast of their own monthly request show recorded by the station. The tour of the studio, at Lymington Hospital, also gave the visitors a hands-on look at the technology that goes into producing a programme. The group was accompanied activities organiser Jackie Fergusson, who said: “Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the visit and we learned a great deal about how our programme is made.” Since last year, bespoke onehour monthly request shows specially produced for residents of four Colten Care New Forest homes have been broadcast under a partnership with the station. As well as Belmore Lodge, they are Court Lodge in Lymington, Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst and Kingfishers in New Milton. Plans to extend the service to Linden House in Lymington are also under way. Dedications are left at each home and gathered by the station’s volunteer DJs to play. The shows are broadcast online and available to download as podcasts.