UNLAWFUL LOCAL AUTHORITY CARE BUDGET CUTS: PREPARE FOR THE LEGAL CHALLENGE DELUGE, SAYS SAGA.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA.

@SagaRosAltmann

QUOTES.

November 11, 2011.

UNLAWFUL LOCAL AUTHORITY CARE BUDGET CUTS: PREPARE FOR THE LEGAL CHALLENGE DELUGE, SAYS SAGA.

Commenting on this week’s court cases in which at least two local authorities have been told that cutting of freezing fees to cover the cost of social care for the elderly and disabled is unlawful, Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, said:

“Until the Government properly recognises the need to fund social care properly, these challenges will keep coming and local authorities will remain under pressure. Consider this: A hospital bed costs around £2,000 a week. A week’s social care - whether in a care home or domiciliary - costs between £400 and £700 depending upon needs and location.

”We have to take a step back and consider the bigger picture: in the space of just a few days a number of local authorities have been told that cutting or freezing budgets to spend on the most vulnerable in our society is unlawful. This leaves all councils with a huge problem and will potentially leave local authority budgets in chaos.

“The local authorities have been forced into this position because of cutbacks and austerity measures - they are in a very difficult position; but the victims are the people who are least able to fend for themselves.

“This, now -bearing in mind we are aware of further impending legal challenges and court cases of this nature - surely sends a signal to government and policymakers that the social care funding issue needs to move swiftly to the top of the agenda.

“The cases and judgments this week are individual victories, but they are also precedents for other claims and challenges.

“That means there is now every danger that the social care and legal systems could well be swamped with costly and time-consuming claims and challenges. The key is unlocking and unblocking the social care system with proper investment and commitment, releasing NHS beds by taking the elderly and vulnerable out of hospitals and back into the community, and saving billions of pounds. The sooner we grasp this nettle with proper radical reform, the better.

“Social care must be valued more highly - since it can be just as life-threatening to withhold social care from those who need it, as it would be to withhold medical care.”

Ends

For further information:

Contact: Dr. Ros Altmann - 07545 504 513 or Saga Press Office 01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

"RELATIVES SHOULD CARE FOR ELDERLY IN HOSPITAL" - SAGA DIRECTOR-GENERAL DR ROS ALTMANN COMMENTS.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

QUOTES

September 27, 2011.

"RELATIVES SHOULD CARE FOR ELDERLY IN HOSPITAL" - SAGA DIRECTOR-GENERAL DR ROS ALTMANN COMMENTS.

Commenting on news that nursing staff may ask relatives to care for elderly hospital patients, Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, said:

"The suggestion of hospital nurses relying on patients' visitors to care for them is astonishing. If patients are in hospital then it is hospital staff who surely have a duty of care to look after patients' needs such as feeding them and ensuring they are clean, washed and dry.

"The problem here is that too many older people end up in acute hospital beds when they really should be cared for elsewhere, but in our current healthcare system the NHS is the default safety net which looks after people when no other care setting is in place. This is a massive waste of resources and definitely sub-optimal for patients too.

"A greater use of publicly-funded domiciliary care for those without acute medical problems could save the NHS a fortune while also improving quality of life for older people.

"Many older patients do not want to be in hospital and these comments suggest some nurses - a minority, I suspect - don't want them there either. What a sorry state of affairs.

"Happily, we do see many examples of wonderful dedicated nursing staff who look after older patients marvellously, but clearly there are strains within our system. A greater emphasis on domiciliary and other social care would be better for many patients, could prevent or shorten hospital stays and save billions of pounds for the NHS.

"The sooner we recognise the need to properly reform social care and integrate this with the Heath Service, the better. We need to ensure better public and private funding for care and reform is long overdue. Andrew Dilnot has offered part of the solution, and we must get on with implementation and integration as soon as possible."

Ends

Further information:
Dr. Ros Altmann
Director-General, Saga
ros.altmann@saga.co.uk
www.saga.co.uk
07545 504513
Twitter @SagaRosAltmann

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

CII REPORT: PENSION “TREASURE TROVES” ARE NOWHERE NEAR BIG ENOUGH FOR LATER LIFE CARE, SAYS SAGA.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

September 14, 2011.

CII REPORT: PENSION “TREASURE TROVES” ARE NOWHERE NEAR BIG ENOUGH FOR LATER LIFE CARE, SAYS SAGA.

The glammed-up treasure trove of private pension pots could turn to dust for the majority of the population requiring care in later life.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, says that the findings of a report by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), entitled “Who cares?”, highlights that despite the recent Dilnot Commission, the public remains unaware of the real cost of long-term care and the need to make personal provision to meet costs.

“Around 80% of people have no idea of how much they will have to pay for care, and around half think long-term care is free at the point of use - but today’s average pension pot will fall well short of funding long-term care costs for the one in four of us who will need it,” said Dr Altmann, who has written a chapter of the report.

“According to the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support, the current average long-term care bill is £26,000 a year, the average length of stay in a care home is two years, but the current average pension income is often only £10,000 a year, leaving a huge annual deficit.

“The key is developing an awareness and national culture of saving for later life. While private pensions may have been sold as later-life treasure troves alongside images of Mediterranean villas or sumptuous retirement apartments, the fact is that we’re in the midst of a pensions crisis which will provide many people with a far more down-to-earth later life – but the impending care crisis will dwarf it by comparison.

“There is not enough money being put aside privately or publicly, and the vast majority of the population is hoping they won’t need care, when statistically at least one in four people will need it.

“The Dilnot report highlights how failure to adjust social care policy over time has left care under-funded across the board – at national, local and individual level. The welfare state was designed in the 1940s, when the idea of millions of people living to advanced old age was unheard of. Policy has failed to move with the times and is not fit for the 21st century.

“Past Governments have failed to help people prepare for care, even though at least one in four of us will require expensive care in later life. The current system of long-term care funding is haphazard, inefficient and unsustainable.

“Government spends over £100bn on benefits, over £50bn on the health service and just £8bn on care, leaving millions of vulnerable older people at risk. The issue is that people are now living so much longer than before, which is actually great news, but our support systems are being overwhelmed.

“This means most people’s whole life savings are at risk, but many do not realise this. Of course, unlike pensions, not everyone will need care, so insurance against future care costs is one obvious potential solution. However, potential care costs that need to be insured against are unlimited, so it is impossible to find affordable insurance to give full peace of mind, and it is difficult to devise policies that will provide real peace of mind.

“There are potential solutions that could be introduced, though: For example, Care ISAs, allocating an annual pension-style allowance to provide for care, incentivising employer care plans with proper tax relief, adapting annuity rules to allow pension funds to be used to buy ‘Care Pension Annuities’, with a lower starting income but which would then provide much larger sums in later life if care is needed.

“Equity Release is inevitable, since most people needing care will probably have to access some of the value of their property; Another potential savings product that would be facilitated by a cap on private care costs would be ‘Family Care Plans’. Four family members could club resources together and save in a joint-account to ensure, say, that one of them will have their care needs covered up to the cap.”

Ends
Further information:
Dr. Ros Altmann
Director-General, Saga
ros.altmann@saga.co.uk
www.saga.co.uk
07545 504513
Twitter @SagaRosAltmann
Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

FORMER NHS CHIEF HOSPITAL CLOSURES COMMENTS: RIGHT IDEA, WRONG ORDER SAYS SAGA.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

September 1, 2011.

FORMER NHS CHIEF HOSPITAL CLOSURES COMMENTS: RIGHT IDEA, WRONG ORDER SAYS SAGA.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s organisation Saga, commenting on former NHS chief executive Lord Crisp’s view that more hospitals should close, said:

“This is the right idea, but gets things in the wrong order. In reality, the faster and more comprehensively domiciliary care is developed - backed by a robust and realistic care funding process – the sooner hospital costs and demand for beds will fall,” said Dr Altmann.

“Lord Crisp states that there is an over-capacity in hospitals. However, we feel that the priority is to ensure efficiency and effective use of hospital beds. Many people stay in hospital longer than they need to or drop into the NHS unnecessarily so a properly supported and funded home based system that would ensure those that are able to return home can do so much earlier, would release pressure on the NHS and allow for a proper assessment of any over-capacity.

“If hospitals are closed or departments contracted before the social care system – particularly domiciliary care - is developed, then matters will get worse rather than better.

“The key is the implementation of the findings of the Dilnot Commission – more money for care – and fast.”

ENDS

Further information:

Saga Press Office

01303 771529.

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800