Elderly care Postcode Lottery

David Cameron came under unprecedented pressure last night to transform provision of care for the elderly.

In an open letter, a coalition of 78 charities and campaign groups warned the Prime Minister that unless he acts, millions of pensioners will be condemned to a life of ‘misery and fear’.

They said that a postcode lottery of access to care is leaving many in ‘quiet desperation’, as huge care bills put them at risk of losing ‘their savings, their dignity, their independence’.

Under the current system, pensioners have to pay the cost of their own care if they have savings or assets worth more than £23,500.

Because of this tens of thousands of pensioners every year have to sell their house to fund the costs of their residential care. And many other pensioners have to make do with 15 minute home help visits, even though most need more assistance, as council services are now so under-funded due to Government cutbacks.

A White Paper on long-term care was published as recently as June this year, but it focussed on the quality of care provision, with the issue of paying for it assigned to an update ‘progress’ document. It is also expected that a new funding system will not be fully in place until 2025.

According to the letter, a total of 78 organisations including Age UK, Saga, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services have merged to write an open letter to the Prime Minister.

It read: ‘Social care is in crisis. The system is chronically under-funded and in urgent need of reform.

‘Without this, too many older and disabled people will be left in desperate circumstances: struggling on alone, living in misery and fear.’

The letter also warned that many years of failure to reform the system had had a ‘devastating impact’, not only on those in need of care, but also on their relatives, who can be forced to give up their jobs to look after a vulnerable family member.

Mr Cameron’s government commissioned economist Andrew Dilnot to write a report on the future funding of long-term care. In July 2011, Dilnot suggested a cap of £35,000-£50,000 on the amount that people have to pay for their care, with the state stepping in to cover the remaining shortfall. Additionally, Financial services firms could offer insurance schemes to reduce the burden further.

The Coalition government commissioned economist Andrew Dilnot to write the report, but the Treasury insisted there was not enough money to pay for his proposals. Mr Dilnot also said no one should be asked to pay for care if they have less than £100,000 in their savings and assets. At present the cut-off is as little as £23,500. Andrew Dilnot also wanted a fairer system in place by the year 2015, but it is believed that this might take even a decade longer.

It is estimated that at least 20,000 pensioners have to sell their home each year to meet their care costs. It is also believed that even under any future system that is put in place, the elderly may still have to consider releasing equity in their homes or downsizing to release funds for their care costs.

The open letter, which has been signed by charities, trade unions and local government organisations, was organised by the Care and Support Alliance.