£66
MILLION FOR THE ELDERLY
(6th March 2002)
 Health
Minister Jacqui Smith has announced initial allocations from a pot
of £66 million to provide extra intermediate care facilities
for older people. Speaking at a conference of Older People's Champions,
she said that the first phase allocations of £46m would produce
an extra 1,300 intermediate care beds, with more to follow in the
£20m second phase.
Intermediate
care is an umbrella term used to describe a range of short-term
treatment or rehabilitation services designed to promote independence,
particularly for older people. It is provided in a variety of settings,
ideally in homely environments or in people's homes. Typically,
these services aim to:
-
Reduce the number of people going into hospital unnecessarily
-
Reduce the length of time people stay in hospital unnecessarily
following treatment when they are able to return home, and provide
services designed to ensure they are able to cope independently
again (both physically and emotionally) as soon as possible
-
Ensure admission to long-term care (in nursing homes or residential
care) only takes place when and if necessary
Examples
of intermediate care include rapid response, 'hospital at home',
residential rehabilitation, supported discharge and day rehabilitation.
The
change agents, set up last autumn as part of the drive to tackle
delayed transfers of care from hospitals, will be working with a
number of localities where capacity needs to be increased, many
of them in London and the South East, to ensure that robust plans
are in place.
Jacqui
Smith said: "I am delighted that these resources will give
older people and their families what they want and deserve - proper
care and support away from acute hospitals to enable them to get
back on their feet and live active and healthy lives."
BBC's
Annette Crosbie star of One Foot in the Grave welcomes moves towards
dignity and independence for older people
Before
attending the conference which is jointly organised by the Department
of Health and the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries(ABPI),
Jacqui Smith visited an intermediate care project in Westminster
with Annette Crosbie, who plays long-suffering Margaret Meldrew
in the classic BBC TV sitcom One Foot in the Grave.
Annette
Crosbie said she was delighted at news of the government initiative.
'Many people dread growing old because of financial worries and
I very much welcome the minister's announcement. The most human
societies are those that appreciate the worth of their older citizens
and the aims of the national standards are close to my heart. Older
people want to retain as much independence and dignity as possible
and to be asked about their care needs. Having national standards
mean that older peoples' views and those who care for them are listened
to.'
The
purpose of the conference was to provide Older People's Champions,
who have been appointed around the country, with the tools and support
they need to implement the National Service Framework for Older
People. Speaking at the conference, Jacqui Smith went on to talk
about other key principles underpinning the Government's programme
on older people's services - including whole systems working, timely
access to specialist care and promoting healthy and active ageing.
The
NSF for older people was published on 27 March 2001. It sets new
national standards and service models of care across health and
social services for all older people whether they live at home,
in residential care or are being cared for in hospital. The website
link for the information strategy is: http://www.doh.gov.uk/ipu/strategy/nsf/4.htm
The
champions website is available through the NSF for Older People
webpage which is:www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/olderpeople.htm
Top
|
