Watchdog finds NHS still failing older people

Watchdogs find NHS not providing sufficient support and care for the elderly

Monday, 27, Mar 2006 12:00

Older people are still not getting the support and care they need under the NHS, a new report from three government watchdogs warns.

It finds improvements in care for people who have had a stroke and praises changes that have enabled more older people to live independently, rather than go into a care home.

But in their evaluation of the first half of the government's ten-year strategy, the Healthcare Commission, the Audit Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) finds progress has been patchy and problems still remain.

Services such as foot care are given very low priority, leading to many older people losing their mobility and becoming socially isolated, the report warns, while local authorities are also not sufficiently aware of the transport needs of these patients.

The report finds evidence of a "lack of dignity and respect" in the way older people are treated in hospital, such as being moved from ward to ward to free up beds, and having meals taken away from them before they are finished because of lack of staff.

And it warns that mental health services for the over 65s are "particularly poor", in particular out-of-hours services for psychiatric management and crisis management, while the watchdogs say there are still "unacceptably long waits" for dementia care.

"Older people are the biggest users of healthcare, occupying almost two thirds of our hospital beds. Yet they continue to be a low priority in both the planning and development of our health service," said Healthcare Commission chief executive Anna Walker.

CSCI chief inspector David Behan added: "The best services involve the people they are there to serve. They must be responsive to their needs and assist them to lead independent, fulfilling lives.

"The evidence from this study is that older people are not involved in the design of services and consequently services are not tailored to their needs and aspirations. It is vital to understand and respond to the specific needs of older people."

Age Concern director general Gordon Lishman said the results of today's report were "shocking" and warned that without new investment, older people and their careers would continue to be denied the help and support they need.

"The government must make sure that better standards of basic care are a priority in health and social care services and that there is the investment to deliver the services that older people need," he said.

Care services minister Liam Byrne welcomed the report, and acknowledged that dignity in care for older people was "not universal".

"What this report above all does today is highlight the need for further reform in the NHS and social services. That's why in January we set out in our white paper very ambitious plans to completely change the way these services operate in future," he told Today.

"Far more investment in preventative services such as foot care, but also crucially completely new levels of joint working between social services and the NHS – that's how we're genuinely going to ensure that there's a web of care that supports old people and not a net that people fall through."