Care homes
Care homes are undervalued and struggling. Older people face uncertainty about how they will be cared for, and who will pay for it.
What we want
We believe that there is a mismatch of affordable, quality care home places available to meet the need and that older people’s choice is being eroded. The problems are as follows:
- Erosion of choice - Older people are being steered away from care homes as they are viewed as a care option of 'last resort' rather than a positive choice.
- Unfair - The UK Government wants older people to be cared for in their own homes, but inadequate funding for social care is failing to give them the companionship and security they need. With ever competing priorities, older people always come last in the funding queue.
- Erratic quality care - Care homes struggle to provide good quality care: a dwindling workforce, increasing costs and a poor image all mean that successful care homes should be championed.
Erosion of choice
Although most people prefer to remain in their own home as they grow older, they don’t want to live out their lives in isolation, anxiety and neglect. There are a number of people who require a level of care, companionship and peace of mind that they can only receive in a good care home. Admissions to care homes usually happen at times of crisis. If seen as a positive option, with preparation and planning, residents in care homes are more likely to enjoy quality care that allows them to stay active and involved in their community, which we believe is their right.
But care homes are struggling in the UK. Increasingly complex funding issues and demands on proprietors are making it hard to keep going whilst barriers such as planning permission limit their ability to diversify.
That means older people can’t get the quality care they need. They have to pay more and have less choice over where they spend the last years of their life. The care home struggle is robbing older people of their dignity and choice.
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Unfair
There is a disparity between those older people who can afford to pay for their own care, and those whose care is funded by the State. Care home owners receive more money from self-funders, who are inadvertently subsidising those funded by the state. Families and charities are often having to make up funding shortfalls of up to £100 a week for older people’s care.
Older people who rely on State funding often have little choice about where they end up, or the kind of care they receive. If care home places exist, the UK Government says older people should have a choice. But the reality is there are so few places, there’s really no choice at all. Some older people say they feel pressured, bullied and hurried into making decisions. Many become stuck in the system waiting for funding to be available.
Shouldn’t all of us be able to choose where we live and have the time to make informed choices?
Erratic quality care
The care home sector is fragmented. Some care homes deliver a high standard of individual care where people feel secure and part of a small community. But many older people suffer in care homes that are isolated themselves from the mainstream health and social care services, and need updating to meet 21st century demands.
It is time for a fundamental shift in attitudes to older people and their care. The system itself, based on the Poor Law, is too rigid and is out of date to meet current and future needs. Such a change is daunting, but let’s look at what works for older people now and replicate it. Help the Aged welcomes the review of social care funding undertaken by Sir Derek Wanless on behalf of the Kings Fund in 2006. The evidence has confirmed the need for much more money. We urge the UK Government to address the findings of this crucial report before it is too late. We insist on a public debate to discuss changing attitudes to older people and how the money can be found for their care.
Older people should be allowed and empowered to choose their own care home and care package if they wish. That means more quality care homes are needed, and the Direct Payments system (which provides older people with money to spend on their own care) should be made more accessible.
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What you can do
Get involved
It’s your health service, so get involved to ensure older people’s concerns are central to the way services are developed.
You can make your views known and respond to consultations on health services in the following ways:
Tell us your experiences
We’d like to hear your experiences of care homes or the social care system. What works and what doesn’t? Have you or someone you know had difficulty in finding a place ? How has the cost of care changed, and what effect has it had on you and your quality of life?
Your experiences help us build an evidence-based campaign for change.
Send your stories to:
Senior Campaigns Officer
Help the Aged
207-221 Pentonville Road
London
N1 9UZ
Email us.
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Frequently asked questions
Why are there so many problems in the care home sector?
Society’s attitude to older people, and the value we place on our elders, is reflected by the poor quality of the services we offer them. Help the Aged believes people’s worth and individuality should not diminish as they reach the end of their lives and we urge you to consider what might be the best ways to fund the care needed.
What is Help the Aged doing?
Having campaigned for the need for the proper funding and planning of long-term care we welcome the Kings Fund’s review of the funding of long-term care. We are now focusing on a major programme in partnership with the National Care Forum on the Quality of Life in Care Homes.
This is about valuing those who live and work in care homes and bringing in the sector to the mainstream health and social care system. It is research –based and is designed to involve older people and all those in the sector from care staff to commissioners and inspectors to practically make life better, more meaningful and satisfying for the care home population
Where can I get more information on paying for care?
The Help the Aged Care Fees Advice service can offer advice and support on meeting the cost of care. Specialist advisers provide free, impartial financial advice, helping older people to find the best ways to pay for care.
