More than 70 old people died every day, waiting for Social Care.
Sky News Article:
Age UK says the figures are “heartbreaking” and show social care services are struggling to secure enough staff and funding.
Tens of thousands of elderly people have died without getting the care they need, according to a charity which is calling for more social care resources.
Age UK cited NHS Digital figures for England which show there were 28,890 support requests for people aged 65 and over in 2021/22 where the person died without any of those services being provided.
The charity said that equates to more than 500 deaths a week – more than 70 a day.
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said: “There isn’t enough social care to go round and so some older people are waiting endlessly for help they badly need.
“It is heartbreaking that on the latest figures, more than 500 older people a week are going to their graves without ever receiving the care and support to which they were entitled.
“Nor can the blame for this parlous situation be placed on the pandemic, for while it certainly didn’t help, social care services were struggling to secure enough staff and funding in the years preceding it.
“Since then, all the evidence is that the position has not got any better and, on most measures, has continued to get worse.”
Ms Abrahams said long waits for social care cause “huge distress to older people” and place “intolerable pressure on their families”.
The charity has written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt saying: “When you were chair of the health and social care committee, you expressed deep regret at being unable to fix the problems faced by social care during your time as secretary of state.
“Now, as chancellor, the Spring Budget is your opportunity to help the millions of older people, often unheard and feeling ignored, who are waiting for good, reliable care and support to live with dignity.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Everyone should have access to good quality social care when they need it, and our thoughts are with all those who have lost elderly relatives and loved ones.
“We are providing up to £7.5m in funding available over the next two years to support adult social care.
“This will put the adult social care system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the sector.
“We are also tackling workforce pressures by promoting careers in adult social care through our annual domestic recruitment campaign and by investing £15m to increase international recruitment of care workers.”
Unfortunately the older population are statistically likely to have voted for this over decades. Vote Tory, vote Brexit, get austerity, get shortages of money and workers in the care sector.
The NHS itself is well funded – if you can get an ambulance to take you to hospital and if the hospital can find you a bed, there is no shortage of money for tests and treatments, just nowhere to go when you are able to leave.
That’s democracy for you.
But they got a blue passport so they are happy in their final days
It shouldn’t be surprising. The elderly are costing too much. Watching ‘Logan’s Run’ will maybe where the UK will end up, as a worst case scenario.
Maybe they could put them in hotels instead of care homes and let them enjoy some of the privileges
They are the people who voted for this. Brexit, EU care workers leaving, funding cuts and voting Tory.
They brought this on themselves, finally their selfish and shitty voting choices are harming them rather than young people for once
Could also read ‘tens of thousands of elderly people abandoned by their families’. My mother gets the care she needs because my wife and I make sure she gets her meds, makes it to the hospital or clinic for her regular checks, and we make appointments if she has a problem. The care is there if carers are there.
We live in a failed state now. The state is no longer providing its basic functions, looking after the vulnerable in our society.
Its easy to say “all old people are tories so fuck em” but that isn’t true, itd 60%, 40% didn’t. I work with old people, lots are old socialists, working class, etc. And theyre the ones most likely to die without care.
The rich tory voters are getting care because they can afford it.
Own this each and every Tory voter, this is your fault!
At least it’s not labour though huh, imagine how bad it would be if labour got in …
Care work does not pay and companies love to exploit those they do hire. Losing a huge number of carers to Brexit only made this crisis worse, one that was awful to begin with. You have people paid peanuts to spend five minutes with a client because they only get paid when they are with them, but their next client is across town and travel is not compensated either. Carers might work nights but don’t get paid extra for doing so too. It’s an industry where workers and clients are both exploited, but only one of those two can walk away from caring and not suffer as a result.
My mum’s husband was one of these. He got covid in the hospital during first lockdown whilst he was there for… well what turned out to be undiagnosed sepsis but they thought was a chest infection (he did have pneumonia too but it was mild, the sepsis was the issue). He got shunted out into a care home since he was basically asymptomatic where they didn’t give him water for a week and his organs began to fail. Then he was put on EOL care whilst shielding, where he was supposed to get care visits once a week, but he died just over a year later not having been visited even once. Didn’t even have a morphine kit at home so it was *not* a pleasant death.
So yea it’s fun and games saying “they voted for it” but frankly doing so is as unsympathetic as you say their voting practices are. It’s horrific, it has repercussions beyond the individual and it’s not ALL about government policy. There’s a healthy dose of neglect and dereliction of duty that goes along with it.
My 83yo mother had to push HARD to get my father into a care home for late stage Parkinsons. She could no longer cope and we feared she would expire before him if she had tried to care for him at home any longer. They are STILL attempting to push him back onto her! This country is a disgrace!
14 comments
More than 70 old people died every day, waiting for Social Care.
Sky News Article:
Age UK says the figures are “heartbreaking” and show social care services are struggling to secure enough staff and funding.
Tens of thousands of elderly people have died without getting the care they need, according to a charity which is calling for more social care resources.
Age UK cited NHS Digital figures for England which show there were 28,890 support requests for people aged 65 and over in 2021/22 where the person died without any of those services being provided.
The charity said that equates to more than 500 deaths a week – more than 70 a day.
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said: “There isn’t enough social care to go round and so some older people are waiting endlessly for help they badly need.
“It is heartbreaking that on the latest figures, more than 500 older people a week are going to their graves without ever receiving the care and support to which they were entitled.
“Nor can the blame for this parlous situation be placed on the pandemic, for while it certainly didn’t help, social care services were struggling to secure enough staff and funding in the years preceding it.
“Since then, all the evidence is that the position has not got any better and, on most measures, has continued to get worse.”
Ms Abrahams said long waits for social care cause “huge distress to older people” and place “intolerable pressure on their families”.
The charity has written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt saying: “When you were chair of the health and social care committee, you expressed deep regret at being unable to fix the problems faced by social care during your time as secretary of state.
“Now, as chancellor, the Spring Budget is your opportunity to help the millions of older people, often unheard and feeling ignored, who are waiting for good, reliable care and support to live with dignity.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Everyone should have access to good quality social care when they need it, and our thoughts are with all those who have lost elderly relatives and loved ones.
“We are providing up to £7.5m in funding available over the next two years to support adult social care.
“This will put the adult social care system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the sector.
“We are also tackling workforce pressures by promoting careers in adult social care through our annual domestic recruitment campaign and by investing £15m to increase international recruitment of care workers.”
Unfortunately the older population are statistically likely to have voted for this over decades. Vote Tory, vote Brexit, get austerity, get shortages of money and workers in the care sector.
The NHS itself is well funded – if you can get an ambulance to take you to hospital and if the hospital can find you a bed, there is no shortage of money for tests and treatments, just nowhere to go when you are able to leave.
That’s democracy for you.
But they got a blue passport so they are happy in their final days
It shouldn’t be surprising. The elderly are costing too much. Watching ‘Logan’s Run’ will maybe where the UK will end up, as a worst case scenario.
Maybe they could put them in hotels instead of care homes and let them enjoy some of the privileges
They are the people who voted for this. Brexit, EU care workers leaving, funding cuts and voting Tory.
They brought this on themselves, finally their selfish and shitty voting choices are harming them rather than young people for once
Could also read ‘tens of thousands of elderly people abandoned by their families’. My mother gets the care she needs because my wife and I make sure she gets her meds, makes it to the hospital or clinic for her regular checks, and we make appointments if she has a problem. The care is there if carers are there.
We live in a failed state now. The state is no longer providing its basic functions, looking after the vulnerable in our society.
Its easy to say “all old people are tories so fuck em” but that isn’t true, itd 60%, 40% didn’t. I work with old people, lots are old socialists, working class, etc. And theyre the ones most likely to die without care.
The rich tory voters are getting care because they can afford it.
Own this each and every Tory voter, this is your fault!
At least it’s not labour though huh, imagine how bad it would be if labour got in …
Care work does not pay and companies love to exploit those they do hire. Losing a huge number of carers to Brexit only made this crisis worse, one that was awful to begin with. You have people paid peanuts to spend five minutes with a client because they only get paid when they are with them, but their next client is across town and travel is not compensated either. Carers might work nights but don’t get paid extra for doing so too. It’s an industry where workers and clients are both exploited, but only one of those two can walk away from caring and not suffer as a result.
My mum’s husband was one of these. He got covid in the hospital during first lockdown whilst he was there for… well what turned out to be undiagnosed sepsis but they thought was a chest infection (he did have pneumonia too but it was mild, the sepsis was the issue). He got shunted out into a care home since he was basically asymptomatic where they didn’t give him water for a week and his organs began to fail. Then he was put on EOL care whilst shielding, where he was supposed to get care visits once a week, but he died just over a year later not having been visited even once. Didn’t even have a morphine kit at home so it was *not* a pleasant death.
So yea it’s fun and games saying “they voted for it” but frankly doing so is as unsympathetic as you say their voting practices are. It’s horrific, it has repercussions beyond the individual and it’s not ALL about government policy. There’s a healthy dose of neglect and dereliction of duty that goes along with it.
My 83yo mother had to push HARD to get my father into a care home for late stage Parkinsons. She could no longer cope and we feared she would expire before him if she had tried to care for him at home any longer. They are STILL attempting to push him back onto her! This country is a disgrace!