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We are The Poor Old Man of Europe again.
Baby boomers living in comfort today could fall into a
precipice of unexpectedly undignified later life if the falling levels of
spending on social care and the rising spiral of demand continue to diverge at
the current rate.
That's the finding of a report commissioned by over-50s
organisation Saga, which highlights that the shortfall in spending on care
could be much worse than previously thought - and that the UK is languishing
near the bottom of the European care spend league.
The report, "Take Care - the Future Funding of
Social Care" says that no degree of number crunching based on current
levels of spend will make ends meet in the sector, meaning potentially
catastrophic consequences for millions of Britons in later life.
"We often look down on other countries, but when it
comes to care for the elderly, we should look up to many of them," said Dr
Ros Altmann, Director- General of Saga.
Compiled by academics and care sector experts at 2020
Health, the report shows that an estimated 275,000 people with moderate care
needs are receiving no financial support as local authorities are desperately
reducing their spending to make ends meet, and that there are huge under-spends
on technology compared to European neighbours.
"Decent care cannot be provided on the cheap, but
not enough money has been allocated. Many more older people, not enough money -
and the situation is worsening relentlessly: by 2030 there will be 50% more
older people, with associated fast-growing demands on the public purse.
Currently, people of working age fund a large proportion of care provision
through taxes, and the ratio of taxpayers to older people will fall by a third;
so where will the money come from?" said Dr Altmann.
"The fact that people live longer has been with us
for a long time, but successive Governments have failed to prepare properly to
address the inevitable consequences. Warnings of a pensions crisis were ignored
but are finally being taken seriously with urgent reform; however no such sense
of urgency has been shown when it comes to care.
"If we think the pensions crisis is a huge problem,
care could be a major catastrophe as more older people are left to languish
with inadequate resources to look after their needs
"The 'Take Care' report highlights the enormous
challenges we face. In particular,
it warns that current policy is incoherent. On the one hand, Government says it
wants to encourage people to stay independent and remain in their own homes for
as long as possible, which is what older people themselves also want, but on
the other hand, by financing only those with greatest need, and reducing
funding for those with moderate needs, people are denied the help they require
to be able to live at home and it is inevitable that more people will end up in
critical need.
"The report also highlights that the UK can once
again be labelled the poor old man of Europe. It cites figures from the OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development) showing that the UK
spends far less on social care for older people than many other European
nations - we're 17th out of 20.
Poland, Germany and Sweden spend 50% more than us, while
France and Italy spend twice as much. We should be ashamed of the lack of
spending on care, which is leading to an extremely undignified way of life for
people growing old in the UK.
"The UK is also behind other countries in the use of
telehealth and telecare services - but it is well known that monitoring people
more effectively and treating them in their own home can save time and money
for health and care services, and is better for them as well.
"The report assesses the various care funding
options, including a partnership between paying for yourself and getting
funding from the public purse, as well as insurance and savings options -
whether voluntary or compulsory - or tax funded. The only certainty is that no
single approach is going to suit everybody.
"We need new thinking, and there is no time to
dither. More older people, means more demand for social care, but less funding
and local authority cutbacks leave vulnerable voiceless victims at risk. It's a
time bomb. We must defuse it."
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