Lonely and ignored older people 'our national shame', says minister

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will call upon the general public to recognise the plight of older members of society, in a speech later today.

Pre-released excerpts from the speech, to be made at today’s National Children and Adults Services conference, show that the minister will refer to, “A forgotten million who live amongst us – ignored to our national shame.”

Hunt will also claim that, “Each and every lonely person has someone who could visit them and offer companionship,” aiming pressure at families, neighbours and communities to recognise the “chronically lonely”.

Director of successful ageing at LifeBook, cognitive neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw, is pleased to see the issue given national attention, saying: “It is a national disgrace that as many as 800,000 people in England are chronically lonely. Loneliness kills, it can lead to low self worth, lack of confidence and depression. It can also be a risk factor associated with heart disease and dementia."

Dr Shaw continues: “Our society doesn’t revere our elders as it does in other cultures so many of us are put to one side and seen as a chore that needs to be attended to every so often. We need a drastic re-think of the care provided to the elderly and a change of mindset to include the mature end of the population rather than isolate them.”

Despite focusing on the attitude of the general public, however, the minister is also expected to support the call to end 15-minute home care visits, made by Care and Support Services Minister Norman Lamb earlier this week. The move is likely to increase tensions between central and local government on the issue of care funding, with the Local Government Association (LGA) having stressed that such improvements cannot be made without additional funds.

Home care sector voices are largely welcoming of the minister’s approach, however, with SureCare managing director Gary Farrer among those responding positively, saying:

“It is vital that the Government addresses some of the massive issues facing our ageing population and this speech is a step in the right direction.

“Rather than squeezing budgets, we should be investing in care of the elderly like other countries do. There also needs to be a cultural change in how we view older people. They should be seen as being precious rather than a nuisance. We should be learning from their wealth of experience. It is a huge shame that when you hit retirement age, the next step is seen to be death.”

He continues: “We are facing a care time bomb, a world in which more and more of us will be working until we are 75 and living past 100. “Our carers tell us that, more often than not, what elderly people want more than most is time. I think we are starting to see a shift back towards the importance of community. Even the supermarkets are picking up on this trend and opening smaller, more community-based stores in towns.

“The way our elderly are treated is scandalous. Many of these people have given great service to this country and it is simply not good enough to stand by and let them receive care visits of just a few minutes a day.

“We need a Government to be bold enough to find the extra investment needed to give our elderly the dignity they deserve but, alongside this, we also need a change in attitude.”

Farrer does agree that care funding itself is an issue that requires more scrutiny, saying: “In some areas, you are doing well if you receive a 15-minute visit. Budgets from central Government are so tight that some local authorities follow a policy of minute-by-minute bookings in order to save as much money as possible.

“Carers end up working in their own time to give that little bit extra but even then they are having to follow a ridiculous schedule which means some elderly people having to wait for their breakfast until midday and others who are being put to bed at 6pm. We simply cannot go on treating older people like this. There is no dignity.”