Government criticised over long term care

The Royal Commission on Long Term Care has called for the full
implementation of free personal care for older people, as outlined
in its 1999 report, writes Natasha
Salari
.

 While the Scottish executive followed the
commission’s recommendations and introduced free personal
care last July, in England personal care is still charged for.

The latest statement from the Royal Commission
says: “Many of the current generation of older people and
their families continue to feel betrayed by the failure of what
they had been led to believe was a ‘cradle to grave’
welfare state to fund their care properly.”

 Older people’s charity Help the Aged
welcomed the commissioner’s statement and Annie Stevenson,
senior policy adviser (health and social care), said the
government’s failure to implement some of the
commission’s key recommendations at the time was “a
missed opportunity”.

 “We would like the government to commit
to the principle of free personal care in line with the aims of
other UK nations, to set a much needed, clear overall policy
direction on long-term care,” she added.

  www.ltc-commissioners.org.uk

More from Community Care

Comments are closed.