The Crisis in Care for the Elderly

Sonya Byrom, Personal Injury Solicitor

The recent open letter to the government organised by the Care and Support Alliance, calling on the government to look into care reforms now as an urgent priority, should make uncomfortable reading for all.

The fact that social care is in crisis at the moment is universally accepted, and with the ageing baby boomer generation, the issue is increasingly urgent.

This is a problem for everyone in society, not just morally, but also on a very personal level, as whichever way you look at it, the ongoing failure to deal with the problem will touch us all individually at some stage, whether in relation to relatives, friends, and/or potentially ourselves, representing at the very least a “Sword of Damocles” over everyone’s heads.

Furthermore, if the government fails to deal with this issue, personal injury lawyers will sadly have to pick up the pieces at the other end.  As funding cuts squeeze services, this often leads to care service providers cutting corners, inevitably resulting in the standards in the care provided falling, which can all to often lead to negligence, and consequent suffering on the part of vulnerable elderly people. Stretched staffing resources leave gaps in care, or, worse still, leave gaps for perpetrators of abuse to flourish.

Nursing home and care abuse cases are always harrowing, and something no one wants on any level, and will also have the additional unwanted result of adding a further financial burden to an already stretched system.

The government clearly needs to take urgent action as otherwise huge numbers of vulnerable elderly people will be condemned to a potentially wretched existence, which must be a condemnation of any “civilised” society.