Age UK: Vulnerable elderly people are being denied care

Age UK claims that more and more over 65’s are being denied care in England.

16:33 06 March 2014

Due to reduced care budget, more and more elderly people aged 65 and above are being denied care including council-funded care in home including washing, dressing, and eating as well as care home places. This claim has been made by Age UK in a new report.

According to the figures, there are at least 800,000 older people who are going without vital help and this is because of the squeeze in funding. Because of this, just 13per cent of local authorities now provide assistance to people with moderate needs compared to nearly half in 2005-2006.

Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams said: "The figures we have uncovered in this report are catastrophic.
"Older people who need help and are now not getting it are being placed at significant risk and families who care for loved ones are experiencing intolerable strain."

Meanwhile, a local government association spokeswoman said that less funding is not the only issue but increasing demand as well. She said: "To substantially raise the standard of care on a nationwide basis, more money needs to be put into the system."

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb, said that social service should be a top priority.

"Both our health and social care services need to work differently to respond to the needs of our ageing population - we need to focus on keeping people well and living independently for as long as possible," he added.