Public votes no confidence in care system

One in three Britons either rely on or have a family member who relies on the care system, but six in 10 are not confident they will receive good care, according to research by the Care and Support Alliance.  

Among the over 60s, this figure rises, with seven in 10 people not confident they will be given sufficient care.

Along with health services, such as hospitals and GP surgeries, the electorate wants to see the Government make support for older and disabled people a priority when it comes to increasing expenditure.   

Two thirds of people aged 60 and over in England believe the government should be doing more in this area and less in others.

The findings come as the government prepares to roll out major care reforms – including ending the postcode lottery, capping care costs and rolling out the Better Care Fund – and ahead of next May’s general election.   

The independent poll was commissioned by 75 of the country’s leading charities who are campaigning, alongside the millions of older and disabled people and their carers, for a properly funded care system.

Richard Hawkes, chair of the Care and Support Alliance, said: “Care is well and truly an election issue. The message from the public is loud and unambiguous. It’s a real vote of no confidence. They are worried about who will care for them or their loved ones, if they can no longer do basic things for themselves. Above all they want the Government to invest more money in the system.”

Age UK reports that almost 900,000 older people in England and Wales who struggle with basic tasks, such as washing and dressing, are being left to fend for themselves.

In light of this, Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society, commented: “The isolation and lack of support for family carers can lead to a crisis that means a person with dementia may move to a care home earlier than they might otherwise need to, at enormous emotional and financial cost. We need large scale reform to integrate our fragmented care system before it switches simply from failing people with dementia to simply failing.”