Think-tank calls for free personal care

Personal care should be free and made
available on the basis of need, according to a report by the
Institute for Public Policy Research.

It argues that it is unfair to draw a
distinction between nursing and personal care needs as both are
forms of health care.

However, free personal care must be additional
to other health services and not provided from budgets for other
essential services such as intermediate care.

The report also finds that the distinction
between nursing and personal care has introduced problems for care
delivery. Nurses may perform free nursing tasks that could be more
efficiently carried out by less qualified care workers. In many
cases it will not be possible to draw a line between nursing care
and personal care states the report.

– A New Contract for Retirement at www.ippr.org.uk/publications/