Unpaid care for Elderly saves £34bn a year - Elliott
Ulster Unionist Assembly member for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Tom Elliott MLA has recently met representatives of Carers Northern Ireland to discuss the plight of the many carers in Northern Ireland. This includes the low paid domiciliary care workers and also those who provide unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member.
Tom said: “It is unfortunate that as we enter the first ever ElderCare Week (3–9 September 2007) the plight facing an ever increasing ageing population is growing. A recent survey has revealed that 42% think that care and support services for older people are worse compared with 5 years ago. It must be remembered that many carers’ do this duty, seven days a week and 52 weeks a year. The withdrawal of Home Help service from many elderly for the preparation of meals has been replaced in many instances by the ‘Meals on Wheels’ service which leads to a feeling of even more isolation.
The Health Service often fails to realise the financial implications for both themselves and a family if a senior citizen is placed in a nursing home instead of remaining within a community. The voluntary work carried out by relatives is not often recognised by Government. There is also the additional worry of placing someone within a nursing home because of the financial impact it can have, with a number of families forced to sell their property to pay for such a service.
More than 8 million people across the UK provide unpaid care for elderly relatives, saving the state roughly £34bn a year on the cost of social services. This number of unpaid relatives looking after fellow family members is set to rise and the issue set to become more serious as the number of over 85’s increases in the next decade.
“The Ulster Unionist Party recognises the role of the 250,000 carers in Northern Ireland and believes that government for to long have undervalued the vital role played by carers. We propose that the Social Security Agency should devise and implement a strategy to increase entitlement take up amongst carers and recognise the true value of carer’s contribution to society.”