Free social care for over-65s would save NHS £4.5bn each year

Free personal care in England for the over 65s would halve the number of people facing ‘catastrophic’ social care costs and save the NHS £4.5bn a year, a think tank reveals.

A two per cent rise in income tax or a 1.3 per cent rise in national insurance would pay for free personal care for this age grouo in England, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Th think tank's report is urging the government to fully fund free personal care which it predicts would reduce the number of people facing ‘catastrophic’ care costs from 140,000 to 80,000.

It would also increase the number of people getting state-funded care from 185,000 to 440,000.

Personal care includes hygiene tasks such as washing and dressing, food preparation, mobility assistance and administering medical treatments.

The IPPR believes spending on adult social care for the over 65s would increase from £17bn a year to £36bn in 2030. Over a million older people in England are being left without the care they need.

Unlike in England, people over 65 in Scotland have been receiving free personal care since 2002.

When 72-year-old Joyce lived in Staffordshire, she was not given the care she needed, until she moved to Glasgow to be near her daughter.

After a fall in her Glasgow home, she received a social care assessment when she was discharged from hospital. She was then given four care visits a day and the help she needed with washing, dressing and meal preparation.

Describing the impact of on her life, Joyce said: “It was fantastic! I didn’t realise how tired I’d become - I had been eating ready meals shoved into the microwave, and now I could eat something freshly cooked for me! It was great.

“I also realised that I hadn’t been washing myself very well and certainly not had a shower for ages! It made such a difference.”

Studies in Scotland have shown more people can live in their own homes for longer, rather than have to move into a care home and less people are stuck in hospital waiting for care.

Joyce is now backing Independent Age’s 'Let’s Get Personal' campaign for the government to introduce free personal care in England.

The public are being encouraged to contact their local MPs to get them to sign independent Age’s Free Personal Care pledge.

A YouGov poll conducted by the charity Independent Age reveals 74 per cent of people in England support free personal care for everyone who needs it and 69 per cent are willing are to pay more tax to get free personal care for all.

To join the #LetsGetPersonal campaign click here.

To read the IPPR report ‘Social care: Free at the point of need’ click here