Leaked: Care shake-up to affect thousands
Adam Hewitt • Published 4 Aug 2010 19:30
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The Lib Dem-Tory coalition has promised to keep the eligibility criteria the same for its first year in office, but made no promises after that
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NEARLY two-thirds of elderly and vulnerable people cared for by their council could see help withdrawn or transferred to volunteers under radical cost-cutting plans.
A leaked document, containing details of a briefing to Reading Borough Council's Tory-Lib Dem Cabinet, proposes cutting the eligibility criteria from 'greater moderate' need to 'substantial' or only 'critical', alongside other potential shake-ups to prepare for funding cuts to an already over-spending department.
Labour community care spokesman, Cllr Mike Orton, said: "They can protect the eligibility criteria if they choose to do so. Reducing the criteria will be choosing to make elderly and vulnerable people on low incomes and their families and carers bear the brunt of the extra Government cuts. This will be grossly unfair."
But deputy council leader Cllr Kirsten Bayes said the changes were about transforming the service, not reducing it, and said: "What I would hate to happen is the situation at other councils where they have suddenly had to remove services, that's been terrible. What we're talking about is transforming the service, to continue to meet needs of residents - but if we just go on as we are, the service will simply run out of money."
There is already a shift to 'preventative' care through the reablement programme, giving six weeks of intensive help to stop people needing expensive, long-term care.
Figures obtained by the Chronicle show in April last year there were 753 people classified as having critical needs, 1,341 substantial and 1,482 greater moderate. The numbers of people in the two lower bands have since fallen to 2,563, but the number whose needs are critical has soared to 1,147.
Reading is Berkshire's only council helping those in greater moderate need, but Cllr Orton said this improved quality of life and stopped people becoming critical. He said working with the voluntary sector is happening and is "obviously a good idea", but relying on volunteers to care for thousands was "unlikely to be feasible" and based on cost-cutting dogma, not people's needs.
The report says 65% of councils offer a critical-only care service, but admits withdrawing care for those in greater moderate need could lead to some of those people's needs becoming critical within months.
Cllr Orton has written to acting community care director Avril Wilson about any upcoming consultation on the changes, as demanded by Department of Health guidance. Cllr Bayes accused him of "scaring people", but Cllr Orton said this was "disingenuous" because his concerns were based on a firm proposal to Cabinet to go to consultation.
The Tory-Lib Dem Coalition agreement promises to keep eligibility criteria the same for its first year in office - but makes no promises after that.
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