The Government has announced the biggest overhaul of social care since the creation of the NHS.
The new measures will mean that:
• Nobody will have to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for social care
• £200 million will be invested to create specialised housing for the elderly
• Patients will be given access to personal health budgets to improve choice and entitlements to care
• More care workers will be trained to ensure all elderly people are treated with the care and dignity they deserve
Although deferred payments for social care are available in some parts of the country, recent figures show that this only applies to 12.3 per cent of those paying for social care in West Sussex. From 2015, everybody will be able to defer the costs of their residential care.
Nicholas Soames said; “Because of these changes, nobody in Mid Sussex will be forced to sell their home to pay for social care during their lifetime.
“This is the biggest overhaul of the social care system in more than 60 years and it will make a huge difference to vulnerable patients here in Mid Sussex.”
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Notes
Social Care and Support White Paper click here
• Universal Deferred Payments: from 2015, nobody will have to sell their house in their lifetime to pay for their residential care.
• People will be better supported to maintain their independence and their connections to the community: through a £200 million investment in specialised housing, and supporting community time sharing schemes.
• People will have clearer entitlements: a national minimum eligibility threshold will make access to care more consistent, and all carers will have the right to an assessment for the first time.
• People will be confident about the quality of care: people will have clear, practical information and advice on the care system and new ways to report bad care. We will consult on whether more should be done to prioritise continuity of care if a provider goes out of business.
• People will be treated with dignity and respect: more care workers will be trained, including an ambition to double the number of care apprenticeships by 2017. Dignity and respect will be at the heart of a new code of conduct and recommended national minimum training standards.
• Everyone will have control over their care: people will have an entitlement to a personal budget, and there will be more independent support to help people develop a care plan. £300m additional funding will be transferred from the NHS to social care, to develop better integrated health and care services.