Older people have lost confidence in government's approach to social care, research finds

Older people are not impressed with the coalition government’s approach to health and social care, according to new research from older people’s housing and care charity, Anchor.

Their research found that

• Just 14 per cent of older people are confident the government will find a solution to the social care crisis

• Only six per cent of those aged over 55 believe the quality of social care has improved under the Coalition

• 66 per cent of older people believe MPs ignore older people’s issues

The research has been released as the coalition prepares to outline its plans for reforming social care.

Anchor’s research also found that more than two thirds of those aged over 55 (67 per cent) believe the coalition government has not paid enough attention to social care and only 14 per cent are confident that the government will find a solution to failures within the social care system.

During the election, promises were made to prioritise social care, but less than a quarter of older people, (23 per cent) are confident that good quality care will be made available to them when they need it.

Half of those over 55 who were questioned say the care system is now in crisis due to the failings of the coalition government, with just six per cent believing the quality of social care has improved in the two years since the coalition took power.

However, less than a third (32 per cent) believe the social care system would have fared better under a different government.

Anchor says that Britain’s older generation is now calling for the government to tackle the social care system “head on” with eight in ten of the older people surveyed, (79 per cent) demanding measures that will improve the quality of care available to older people to be included in this summer’s social care white paper.

70 per cent of respondents want NHS and social care services to be “more joined up” as part of the government’s white paper, as they hope the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leadership will deliver on election pledges to create greater integration between NHS and social care provision.

The research found older people would like further measures on the white paper wish list and they include:

• Simplifying the process for applying for social care support (70 per cent)

• Older people said the white paper should cap the costs which individuals will be expected to pay for social care (71 per cent)

• And raise the means-tested threshold at which individuals must begin contributing to their own care (69 per cent)

• Alongside funding, quality remains a key priority – two-thirds of older people hope the white paper will improve public access to information about standards of care (66 per cent)

Jane Ashcroft, chief executive of Anchor, said: “Successive governments have failed to address the issue of social care funding. Older people are sending a clear message to the Coalition that the time has come to take the bull by the horns.

“We hope the Health Secretary will resist the temptation simply to tinker around the edges and believe reform must address the thorny issue of how care is paid for – without this crucial element, any reforms will be nothing more than a damp squib. The next step will be for the Government to appoint a Minister for Older People who can oversee these reforms, ensure a crisis of this magnitude is never repeated and drive a more strategic approach to dealing with demographic change.”

Anchor believe their research suggests that the concerns about social care are indicative of a deeper problem in MPs’ attitudes to older people. It says two-thirds of those aged 55 plus and 54 per cent of the general population believe MPs ignore older people’s issues.

The charity thinks this is a key reason why over 137,000 people backed Anchor’s petition calling for a dedicated Minister for Older People who can join up policies relating to the UK’s elderly population.

The National Pensioners Convention promotes the welfare and interests of all pensioners and Dot Gibson, general secretary of the convention commented on the Anchor research: “It is clear (from this report) that older people have no confidence in the government to sort out the crisis in social care – and the main reason is because politicians seem reluctant to face up to the fact that we are all going to have to pay for it – rather than expecting the individual and their family to pick up the pieces on their own.

“We will only tackle the problems of rationing of services, poor standards and rising charges if we have a National Care Service – like the NHS – that is funded by society as a whole. The current model of social care has been tried for years and it simply doesn’t work anymore. Rather than kicking this issue into the political long grass, the government should listen to older people and their views on how social care can be improved.”