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New figures from Age Concern reveal that six in ten people think that care and support services do no more than provide the minimum standard of care that providers can get away with [1].

The findings are being issued as the Government’s consultation on the future of care and support draws to a close [2]. Age Concern is calling for a new national entitlement to care and support that will give people the right to a decent quality of care in later life.

Polling for the charity also shows that eight in ten people think that unless they demand help for themselves or a family member‚ statutory services are turning a blind eye to their needs.

Backing up the survey results are the voices of more than 700 people of all ages who gave Age Concern detailed and damning verbal evidence about crumbling care and support services.

In 47 listening events held across the country as part of the charity’s Big Q campaign [3] people told the charity that radical reform is needed to improve the quality of care and to make the system fairer.  

Participants made it clear that they expect the Government’s Green Paper‚ due next year‚ to go much further than previous shake-ups of care and support services. As one listening event participant put it: “This situation has been going on for years‚ will it change this time?”

Their views and recommendations have been compiled into a report “Q is for Quality” and submitted to the Government’s consultation‚ which comes to an end tomorrow. The report reveals that people’s top complaints are: 

• care is expensive and the system penalises those who save
• the quality of care varies greatly and is often inadequate
• the system is baffling and the right information is not available when its needed
• people are often sent home from hospital without any support in place
• care staff are poorly trained and/or poorly paid and do not treat people with dignity
• state benefits for those needing or providing care are inaccessible

Gordon Lishman‚ Director General of Age Concern‚ said: “Our Big Q consultation has demonstrated just how angry and let down people feel about the current care and support system.  It needs straightening out‚ starting with a new national entitlement to services.  This has to be designed around people’s needs‚ not bureaucratic concerns‚ and this can’t be done on the cheap. 

“Looking into the future‚ society must decide if we want to make a radical move away from the means-tested system of today.  Most of the people we’ve spoken to think this system is grotesquely unfair and would back the idea of paying more through tax or insurance so that support is there when it’s needed.  Politicians face tough choices but must grasp the nettle to deliver a system that treats older people with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

Mavis Haywood*‚ 71‚ who contacted Age Concern to share her experience of buying care and support services‚ said:  “I’m privately funded because I have a bit of savings‚ but not a lot... and‚ no‚ it’s not good value…  You should get more of a say‚ but it doesn’t work that way: you pay for your care but you don’t get a say.”

Because of budget shortfalls‚ the majority of local authorities have restricted support to people who have the highest needs. This leaves large numbers of people without help when they need it and creates huge uncertainty as to whether these services are reliable.

Howard Richardson*‚ who participated in a listening event‚ said: “…one day I receive services‚ next month‚ next week‚ next day‚ I might lose all of my services because of that criteria changing. My condition hasn’t changed‚ my lifestyle hasn’t changed‚ but for some reason or another I lose services because of some meeting‚ nothing to do with my life.”

The on-line version of the “Q is for Quality” report includes links to videos of politicians and older people talking about care and support reform at the charity’s listening events. To get a free copy of the campaign report “Q for Quality”‚ please visit our website www.ageconcern.org.uk/care or call our information line on freephone 0800 00 99 66.

The views in the report are support by the charity and are underpinned by its five building blocks for the foundation of a new quality care system:

• Respecting people’s Dignity
• Enabling people to maintain their Independence
• Ensuring Fairness for all who need care
• Giving Clarity about getting the support you need
• Increasing the amount of Money available to provide quality care

To find out more about The Big Q campaign please visit www.ageconcern.org.uk/care‚ email care@ace.org.uk or call Age Concern’s Campaigns team on 020 8765 7656.

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Notes to editors

* Please note that names have been changed and because of this these people are not available for interview.

Spokespeople are available for interview and Age Concern England has an ISDN facility.

[1] The “Lifestage” research study was commissioned by Age Concern England‚ managed by Age Concern Research Services and was developed‚ conducted and analysed by the market research agency BMRB.  The survey was based on a self-completion questionnaire mailed to a sample of more than 2‚500 people aged 45+. Relevant findings were:

Access to care and support

• Most services providing care and support to older people give the minimum standard of care they can get away with. Agree= 61%‚ Disagree = 17%‚ Neither = 22%
• If families don’t demand help from local services on behalf of older people‚ they don’t get any.
  Agree= 81%‚ Disagree = 10%‚ Neither = 9%
• Social services will only provide support if there is absolutely no one else to care for you (2430) 
  Agree= 77%‚  Disagree = 11%‚ Neither = 12%
• Not enough help is offered to older people who are leaving hospital (199)
  Agree= 76%‚ Disagree = 13%‚ Neither = 11%

Paying for care and support

• How concerned would you be about the following:
• Paying for a private (non-NHS) care home if you needed it (2‚426 responses) Very concerned= 70%‚ Fairly concerned=20%‚ Not very concerned=4% Not at all concerned=2% Not applicable=4%
• Paying for long-term care if you needed it (2‚448 responses) Very Concerned= 69%‚ Fairly concerned=23%‚ Not very concerned=4% Not at all concerned=1% Not applicable=3%

Quality of carers

• Paid carers are not allowed enough time to give good care to older people (198 responses) Agree= 83%‚ Disagree = 13%‚ Neither = 4%

[2] The Government has been running a pre-consultation on care and support ahead of a green paper which is expected to be released next year. The pre-consultation aimed to gather the views of members of the public about how care and support could work in the future. Find out more by visiting the Government's Care and Support website.

[3] Age Concern has held 47 listening events involving more than 700 older people. Many of the participants are receiving help themselves‚ acting as a carer‚ or are concerned that they will need care or support in the future. Find out more at www.ageconcern.org.uk/care

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