How would you feel if you were unable to
wash, dress and feed yourself without support yet that support was denied to
you, you would be outraged, wouldn’t you, and certainly agree there was a
crisis in the care system.
Talk of a crisis in care often evokes imagery
of older people who need care and support as they age, of coping with life as
the rigours of life take their toll on the body and mind. Yet new research,
published today by five major charities, shows the crisis in care is much wider
and that the needs of younger, disabled people are not being met.
The report, ‘The Other Care Crisis’
highlights the fact that nearly 40% of disabled people do not get sufficient
support in their daily lives with such things as washing, dressing and eating.
Also highlighted is the £1.2 million funding gap in social care support for the
disabled under the age of 64 with services being withdrawn because of a lack of
funding and the criteria for being entitled for support becoming ever tighter.
It does not stop there, the report estimates
that more than 100,000 people will be affected by proposed Government reforms.
It is not just about the clinical financial practicalities
of providing care and support, it is about individuals. Being unable to wash
without support is bad enough yet the impact on self-esteem is immeasurable,
ask yourself now, how do you feel when you are dirty? Being unable to feed
yourself without support has much greater impact on health and well-being and
while Ministers talk of ‘prevention’ to reduce hospital admissions etc it
seems, from this report, that the rhetoric remains more important the any real
action.
The most shocking revelation in the report
was nearly half of those who were interviewed in the study said the lack of
support they receive meant they were unable to take part in community life in a
way they wanted to. Once again imagine yourself in that situation, how would it
feel to be socially isolated and unable to take part in the activities you
enjoyed, the opportunities to talk and engage with friends. Picture the impact
such social isolation would have on your mental well-being and the general
frustration with life that would start to eat away at you.
In fact just over half of those interviewed
for the report stated they felt anxious, isolated or experienced declining
mental health as a result of services being cut.
It is time Government, and the wider
discourse of social care, changed. When there is talk of integrated services it
often basically means integration between health and social care yet the needs
of younger disabled peoples goes far beyond that. There needs to be integration
with housing services, integration with employment services and integration
with benefit services. The debate on social care must encompass all those who need help and support, including those
under the age of 64.
There are many great schemes that have been
developed over recent years, such as direct payments, but these depend on
individuals actually meeting eligibility criteria and as this becomes tighter
less and less people will actually be entitled (although Governments will claim
success as the percentages will be higher because less people are entitled!).
Today’s report has to be commended for
highlighting the care crisis does not just apply to older people nor does its
solution solely rest on whether or not property needs to be sold to pay for
care. For those under the age of 64 who have life-long conditions the current
system is failing many of them.
Yes we live in austere times and economic
sacrifices have to be made but that does not mean we should penalise those in
society who need societies support to live their lives in a way most of us take
for granted.
The
report “The Other Care Crisis” has been produced by Scope, Mencap, National Autistic
Society, Sense & Leonard Cheshire Disability and is available at
