Wednesday 2 May 2012

State must pay family carers to look after elderly, say MPs

The current system means it is cheaper for families to put relations in the hands of local council-run care services, according to a report from the Free Enterprise Group.
The organisation said the Government could save an estimated £1.14 billion a year by funding families directly. Chris Skidmore, the MP for Kingswood, who wrote the report, said: “Where a local authority might otherwise be paying several hundred pounds a week for residential care, they could instead be offering a fraction of that to a relative to provide care themselves.”
Such a move would improve “quality of life” for the elderly, allowing them to stay at home “and be looked after by the people that know them best”. Charities and campaigners have warned that funding cuts have left council-supported services in crisis, with more elderly people kept in hospital for longer because of a shortage of nursing home places.

Full Article on Telegraph

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