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June 2012
incorporating The Number One magazine for the care sector
no.193 • £4.75 In association with
Head calls for fees debate after Speech By Dominic Musgrave THE head of a leading care association says she wants to start a debate regarding the funding of long-term care in the wake of the Queen’s Speech. NCA chief executive Sheila Scott says the crisis ‘must look like a bottomless pit’ for the Government after it was put on the back burner. She was speaking after the Queen’s Speech included a draft bill that would be drawn up in the next year to modernise adult care and support in England, setting out what support people could expect from government and what action the government would take to help people plan, prepare and make informed choices about their care. But there was no mention of how to pay for supporting England’s rapidly ageing population. Sheila said: “I would like us to start a debate among ourselves about what might be done to help to alleviate this particular financial challenge. “My thoughts are many and mixed and might be a starting point for our discussions. How can any Government make decisions when they do not appear to know the real cost of the provision of care. “For example, we know what it costs by area to keep a person in a
care home if they are funded by the State, but do we know what it costs for a person to live and receive care at home including housing benefits? “I would be interested to know whether the Government looked at other countries’ models and does it know anything about models that seem to work?” Prestige Nursing+Care MD Jonathan Bruce said the government had ‘missed the opportunity to properly address care funding reform’ in the Queen’s speech ‘announcing only the vague modernisation of care, but with no practical indication of how this will be achieved’. He added: “Looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our society should not be cast aside in favour of political calculations of what will keep the coalition together. “That care is unlikely to be addressed in the next Parliament means that we will be yet another sitting without a solution and with a crisis that is only getting worse. “What this means in reality is that more people can’t afford the care they need and more people are left struggling to survive.” What do you think? Let Dominic Musgrave know by emailing dm@scriptmedia.co.uk or call him on 01226 734407.
RNHA supports five-point care plan
Hollywood actor Alfred Molina officially opened a new £3.2m specialist dementia care home in Malvern. The Da Vinci Code, Spiderman and Chocolat star planted a tree marked with a plaque to commemorate the occasion at Bradbury Court. Alfred’s daughter Rachel works for charity Friends of the Elderly who have built the home. The 24-bed site adjoins the already established Davenham and Perrins residential and nursing facilities.
THE RNHA has backed a five-point plan from the Alzheimer’s Society to address the kind of dementia care problems identified in a recent BBC Panorama programme about a London care home. The association is urging all care homes across the country to ensure that their own dementia care policies and practices reflect the highest possible standards. RNHA chief executive officer Frank Ursell: “The Panorama programme highlighted how organisations are only as good as their weakest link. It is vital that all staff treat patients with the respect they deserve. “The actions of the staff featured in the programme were wholly unacceptable and the company that owned the home was right to dismiss them. The judicial system has also sent out a strong message that physical abuse of residents will not be tolerated.”