Loss of confidence in the care home sector

The care home industry has over the past six months been plagued by bad press effecting the public’s view of the care home sector.  This is knocking people’s confidence and in one recent news report some families are looking after their elderly parents rather than put them into a care home.   I think that the success of  someone remaining at home depends to a large extent on the nature and degree of the condition of the cared for person and the amount of support they need.   Even with a good care package the home situation  can become so difficult  and problematic that a move into care becomes necessary. 

One of the main difficulties for people and their carer's is accessing services and getting a social care assessment. Due to restructuring and cut backs in the public sector it is much harder to get social services on board and with resources at breaking point; getting an assessment particularly a face to face one is becoming much more difficult.  Social Services have a strict criteria with a tendency to only become involved if the person needing care has under a certain amount of money which is currently set at £23,500 or has high or critical needs for instance when facing a crisis.  Many elderly people especially those living with dementia can have extremely complex needs and specialist care and support is paramount.

The current system in England is unfair and inequitable with our older generation being marginalized.  The government is looking at ways to make the system fairer for people and as far as I am concerned  the sooner the better.