Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Reinvent the ageing process
- Authors:
- FOOT Catherine, HUMPHRIES Richard
- Journal article citation:
- Health Service Journal, 124(6393), 4 April 2014, pp.24-25.
- Publisher:
- Emap Healthcare
The authors look at ways of redesigning health and care services to meeting the needs of an ageing population. It highlights the importance of looking at all compoments of care: joint working, the right housing, correct use of comprehensive geriatric assessment, and treating older people with compassion, respect and dignity. (Original abstract)
Health and social care for older people: progress, problems and priorities
- Author:
- HUMPHRIES Richard
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 16(1), 2015, pp.27-31.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the principal challenges facing the health and care system in England arising from an ageing population, assess the track record of the coalition government in addressing these and offer a perspective on the priorities likely to be faced by the next incoming government in relation to health and social care for older people. Design/methodology/approach: Assessment of key policy documents and legislation and interpretation of published data on trends in health and social care activity and expenditure. Findings: An ageing population requires a fundamental shift towards a new model of care that offers better coordinated care and promotes independence and healthy ageing. The Care Act 2014 is a significant achievement and NHS spending has been protected, but resulting cuts to local government budgets have since sharp reductions in social care for older people. The next incoming government will need to address a deepening financial crisis in health and care system; the increasingly unsustainability of means tested and rationed social care alongside universal free health care; and the need to make faster progress in developing a new models of integrated care closer to home. Originality/value: The issues raised in this paper affect older people as voters, tax payers and as existing or potential users of health and social care services. As a group they will attract significant attention from political parties in the next election campaign. (Publisher abstract)
Social care for older people: home truths
- Authors:
- HUMPHRIES Richard, et al
- Publisher:
- King's Fund
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 98
- Place of publication:
- London
This report looks at the current state of social care services for older people in England, through a combination of national data and interviews with local authorities, NHS and private providers and other groups. It considers the impact of cuts in local authority spending on social care providers and on older people, their families and carers. The research findings are reported in five sections: views of local authorities about the scale and nature of the savings and perceptions of the future; views of social care providers, including residential, home care and voluntary sector organisations about the impact of local authority budget pressures; the views of interviewees about the impact on older people, their families and carers; the view from the NHS on the experience of managing rising pressures from older patients; and the impact of national and local strategies to improve care and support for older people, such as Care Act 2014, integration, and the Better Care Fund. The report finds that social care for older people is under huge pressure, with increasing numbers of people are not receiving the help they need; social care providers are struggling to retain staff, maintain quality and stay in business; under-investment in primary and community NHS services is undermining the policy objective of keeping people independent and out of residential care; and funding has not kept pace with the new demands created by the Care Act 2014. The report makes recommendations to address three major challenges in adult social care, which are, to: achieve more with fewer resources, for example, through better commissioning and integrated care; establish a more explicit policy framework, which makes it clear that primary responsibility for funding care sits with individuals and families; and reform the long-term funding of social care because reliance on additional private funding is unlikely to be sufficient or equitable. (Edited publisher abstract)