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It ’ s time to rethink how we support older people with health problems to stay well at home , warns Age UK
A new in-depth report from the Charity Age UK , Fixing the Foundations , published on 17 February 2023 , reveals how our under-funded and overstretched NHS and social care system is struggling and sometimes failing to cope with the needs of older people .
Longstanding problems are piling pressure on families and carers and leaving the NHS in constant crisis mode , contributing massively to the long waits for people of all ages to access urgent care .
The report provides a first-hand account of older people ’ s difficulties in getting the good , joined up health and social care they need to manage at home , leaving them at risk of crisis , which often results in being admitted to hospital .
Yet , Age UK stresses , the evidence is clear that with the right care at the right time many of these admissions could have been avoided .
The report includes perspectives from professionals – including occupational therapists – and unpaid carers . It also shows how living with multiple long-term health conditions , as a significant proportion of older people do , makes it especially hard to navigate health services that are still usually organised around individual illnesses and diseases . On the back of this new report Age UK calls for :
• Integrated Care Systems ( ICS ) to develop comprehensive strategies for meeting the health and social care needs of older people at home , and in care homes , living in their areas .
• Social care reform and a major and sustained increase in funding .
• Multidisciplinary working to become the default method of delivering health and care services to older people .
• A better paid health and social care workforce , with the skills and competencies to properly support older people would make a huge difference to the quality and availability of care .
• A step change in the recognition of and financial and practical support on offer to unpaid carers , who are holding up many parts of the health and care system .
Caroline Abrahams , Age UK Charity Director , said : ‘[ Our ] new report shows we need to turbocharge our efforts to recruit , retain and support all the brilliant professionals that older people depend on to help them stay well at home ,
It won ’ t be long before next winter is upon us and it ’ s imperative we start work now to make sure it ’ s a much better one for the NHS and social care , and for older people too .”
especially if they are struggling to manage several serious health conditions , like heart disease and diabetes , as many are .
‘ We need lots more social care staff , and hugely important community health professionals like district nurses and occupational therapists , as well as GPs . Then we need to get them working effectively together – not only at the point when an older person is at immediate risk of needing a hospital bed , as with urgent response teams and virtual wards , but well before they reach that point too .
‘ It won ’ t be long before next winter is upon us and it ’ s imperative we start work now to make sure it ’ s a much better one for the NHS and social care , and for older people too .’ Fixing the Foundations can be downloaded at https :// bit . ly / 3neJ9Ok .
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April 2023 OTnews 7