Charity Pushes For Preventative Services

Counsel & Care, the national charity for supporting the elderly and their families, has called on the government to invest in preventative services to keep elderly people independent for longer. By investing in low-level preventative services, like telecare, which saves money by reducing the need for hospital and residential care, Counsel & Care believe the government can save funds, as well as providing elderly people with much-craved independence.

Among the proposals put forward by Counsel & Care are for the government’s 2007 spending review to look at investing in advice and information for elderly people, extending direct payments and individual budgets and putting more money into telecare initiatives.In addition, the charity is also hosting a conference, to be attended by care services minister Ivan Lewis, to discuss the future of early intervention services for older people.

Stephen Burke, chief executive of Counsel & Care, stated: “We know that older people want to stay in their own homes and maintain their independence. However, we also know that there are frailer older people for whom the care home environment is the only setting where they can receive the support that they actually need.”We need to encourage older people over 80s to expect and to ask for more from health and social care and support them to exercise choice and control,” he enthused.