Saga chief warns of ‘catastrophe’ that will be caused by adult social care cuts

According to a report by Saga, the Folkestone-based organisation for over-50s, the shortfall in spending on care could be much worse than previously thought, with the UK languishing near the bottom of the European league.

The warning comes at a time when Kent County Council is planning to close or rebuild a number of care homes for the elderly in an attempt to save about £2 million, while also increasing its charges for recipients of adult social care.

Saga director-general Dr Ros Altmann said: “Decent care cannot be provided on the cheap but not enough money has been allocated.

“The fact that people live longer has been with us for a long time, but successive governments have failed to prepare properly to address the inevitable consequences.

“Warnings of a pensions crisis were ignored but are finally being taken seriously with urgent reform. However, no such sense of urgency has been shown when it comes to care.

“If we think the pensions crisis is a huge problem, care could be a major catastrophe as more older people are left to languish with inadequate resources to look after their needs.”

KCC lost £58m in government grants this year and must make savings of £95m as a result.

About £3m will come from increased charges for people who access adult social services,
including those with mental health problems who previously did not have to pay.

Dr Altmann said it was not unreasonable to ask some people to pay more if they can afford to, and welcomed the fact people with moderate care needs in Kent will still receive funding.

However, the Saga report shows some 275,000 people in that category elsewhere in the UK have already had financial support cut completely.

Dr Altmann said: “We should be ashamed of the lack of spending on care, which is leading to an undignified way of life for people growing old.

“We need new thinking and there is no time to dither. More older people means more demand for social care, but less funding and local authority cutbacks leave vulnerable voiceless victims at risk.

“It’s a time bomb and we must defuse it.”

Meanwhile, Bexley has said it will not be raising the level of need required for residents to qualify for social care and support. Cllr David Hurt said: “We have been able to leave the level of need unchanged because of the massive effort we have made to increase efficiency and make ‘back office’ savings.”