TARGETS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ELDERLY CARE (1/11/02)

Today the Audit Commission published a report, Integrated Services for Older People.

It found that older people too often get a disjointed response when they seek help or advice.Older people said they wanted better co-ordinated public services, focused on helping them stay independent.

Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group on Somerset County Council, Colin Hill, said, “co-ordinated public services can only be achieved when different agencies work together as one system.And they must work with older people themselves.

“My greatest worry is that under Labour, targets have become more important than care.The report is clear in warning this Government that their obsession with targets is affecting the quality of care received by patients.

“The best way of learning how well a service operates is by talking to those who use it.Older people are saying they want a more co-ordinated service and that they want to remain independent.This is what we must seek to achieve.”

Shadow Health Secretary, Dr. Liam Fox said, “The elderly should be treated with dignity so that they can be made to feel secure. Under Labour, they have been made the most vulnerable group in our healthcare system when they should be given the treatment they deserve.

“In too many areas, social services for the elderly are in melt-down. Far too much money for social services is being ring-fenced, and far too little discretion is being given to those who are going to be accountable to the electorate for carrying out the policies.

“The Audit Commission underlines just how much progress there is still to be made to give them high quality social services appropriate to their needs"

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The report, Integrated Services for older people; Building a whole system approach in England is published today Thursday 31 October 2002 by the Audit Commission.

It comments:
"Evidence from our study sites and elsewhere suggests that the strong national emphasis on reducing delayed transfers of care has meant that enormous attention and resources have been focused on getting people out of hospital, often at the expense of more preventative activities that help older people to live independent lives. We saw a number of examples of teams that had been established with a dual goal of preventing avoidable hospital admissions and tackling delayed transfers, but who were working almost exclusively on moving older people out of hospital. As noted earlier, older people value services that help them to live independently."