Peterborough 24th September 2009
I had an interesting day partaking in the Big Care Debate event in Peterborough last week.
The half day kicked off with a presentation from a Department of Health representative outlining how care is currently delivered and funded and why this is not sustainable due to the changing demographics of our population.
Increased life expectancy and advances in medical science mean that people with disabilities are living longer, clearly this should be celebrated but it does mean that we need to review how care and support will be provided and paid for in the future.
The presentation went on to describe the Government’s vision for a National Care Service. The Government thinks there are six things that we should be able to expect from this service.
Prevention Services
You will receive the right support to help you stay independent and well for as long as possible and to stop your care and support needs getting worse.
National Assessment
Wherever you live in England, you will have the right to have your care and support needs assessed in the same way and you will have a right to have the same proportion of your costs paid for.
Joined-up Service
All the services you need will work together smoothly after your needs are assessed. You will only need to have one assessment to access a whole range of care and support services.
Information and Advice
If you need care and support, or you are preparing for it, you will find it easy to get information about who can help you, what care and support you can expect, and how quickly you can get it.
Personalised Care and Support
Your care and support will be designed and delivered around your individual needs. As part of your care and support plan, you will have a much greater choice over how and where you receive support, and the possibility of controlling your own budget wherever appropriate.
Fair Funding
Everyone who qualifies for care and support from the state will get some help meeting the cost of their needs. Your money will be spent wisely to fund a care and support system that is fair and sustainable.
After this we formed groups to discuss the areas that we were most interested in. I joined the group discussing Information and Advice, others in this group were a head of social services from a local authority, a policy adviser from the Care Quality Commission, a parent of a child with a disability who also runs a charitable organisation, a member of the Parkinson’s Disease society and the husband of a lady that suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. The overwhelming feeling was that the current information provision is inadequate and difficult to navigate. The sources of information are nebulous, hard to find and often out of date.
The group consensus was that information needs to be centralised, quality managed and available in whichever format that the person accessing it finds easiest.
We then moved on to a more contentious issue, the source of funding for future care provision. The Government is seeking feedback on three potential options:
Partnership - The responsibility for paying for care and support would be shared between the Government and the person who has care and support needs. The Government provides between a quarter and a third of the cost of care and support, more for people on a low income. Today’s 65-year- olds will need care and support costing on average £30,000.
The partnership system would work for adults of all ages. Under this system it is expected that many people born with a care and support need will qualify for free care, as they do under the current system. Those working age adults who do not qualify for free care (those who are better off) would have the same offer around funding as people over 65.
Insurance - The same as partnership but the Government would help people prepare to meet the costs that they would have to pay for themselves through an insurance based approach. As well as providing people with between a third and a quarter of the cost of care and support, the Government would make it easier for people to take out insurance to cover care and support costs if they want to. It is estimated that the cost of insurance could be around £20,000 to £25,000.
The insurance part of the second option would be less relevant to people who have been born with a care and support need, since people cannot insure against the risk of something that has already happened. However, many people born with a care and support need are likely to qualify for free care under the partnership element of the system.
Comprehensive - Everyone over retirement age who can afford it would pay into a state insurance scheme, so that everyone who needs care and support will receive it free. It is estimated that the cost of being in the system could be between £17,000 and £20,000.
The Comprehensive system would be for people over retirement age, but the Government would also look at providing a free care and support system for people of working age alongside this.
It was difficult to obtain a feeling for which of these options were deemed most favourable by the group that I was in. Some of the members of the group felt that none were particularly attractive but did understand the requirement for a revision of the current system to cover the potential costs of care in later life.
The third and final area we were invited to debate was whether the care and support system should be administered locally or nationally, again I left with the impression that there was no strong feeling either in favour or against either option.
We were then treated to a question and answer session with Phil Hope MP (Minister of Sate for Care Services). The minister fielded a number of questions from the floor and his responses were well received.
In conclusion I felt that the debate was well organised and that some very good comments were made by the attendees. All of the comments made were collected by the facilitators to be added to those collected from numerous Big Care Debate events that are taking place.
It is possible to have your say without attending an event by visiting completing the questionnaire at http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/questionnaire/
The Government’s green paper Shaping the Future of Care Together outlines a vision for a national care service for all adults in England. There is further information at www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk
Add New Comment
Viewing 8 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment
Trackbacks