Care cuts will hit the vulnerable, says charity

20 Sep 10
Elderly people will be hit more than most by local authority spending cuts, a care charity has said today.

By Jaimie Kaffash

20 September 2010

Elderly people will be hit more than most by local authority spending cuts, a care charity has said today.

Counsel and Care’s national survey of councils shows that care budgets are under extreme pressure. More than half of those surveyed said they would be cutting the budgets or limiting the range of services available. Six local authorities were considering increasing the costs of home care.

Stephen Burke, chief executive of Counsel and Care, criticised ‘short-sighted’ plans to increase charges. He said that if they are put into place, ‘the impact will be felt first by the most vulnerable, who will have to go without vital care and support and then on acute health services as people are forced to reach crisis point before they get help’.

‘Such short-sighted cuts will cost the public purse more in the long run. We acknowledge the pressures that local authorities are under, but call on councils to protect vital frontline services for older people and their carers.

‘This worsening postcode lottery highlights the need for urgent reform to create a fair, simple and sustainable care system for older people and their families and carers,’ he said.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: 'It is no surprise councils are facing tough decisions on adult social care spending. This has been the case for years and the current economic climate is exacerbating this.

'Raising charges and focusing on those with the greatest need and least means is a reasonable response to a very difficult position.'

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