There's No Place Like Home For Elderly

27-05-2008 13:53

In the words of the ruby slippered Dorothy, 'There’s no place like home' but rather than clicking their heels, the elderly are choosing to dig them in.

We spend most of our adult lives buying and improving our homes, It’s a place where our children grow up and where memories are made. Why then would we choose to give them up simply because we have become elderly or infirm?

This is an issue raised in Gordon Brown's recent pledge to reform the social care system where he called for care to be more responsive to the demands for independence.

Allowing people to remain in their own home, where possible, is beneficial to their well-being. The familiarity of home offers comfort, privacy and dignity, things that help us to flourish but not necessarily survive. It is the manner of care given which often satisfies or denies independence in the home.

Much of the care received in the home, referred to as unpaid or informal care, comes from a spouse or family member and while many would agree that it was duty driven, the reality is that many unpaid carers are unrewarded and overlooked. The demand on their time compromises their quality of life including their income and employment opportunities. According to Carers UK, unpaid care is valued at £87 billion per year an issue also raised in Mr Browns plans for reform.

State provided care is a lifeline to many, figures published this year by The NHS information centre show that 334,500 households (or 346,700 service users) benefit from 3.9 million hours of home care. 78 per cent of the total hours of care were provided by the independent sector.

Dominic Rothwell, Managing Director of SureCare commented: "With improved mortality rates, the provision of home care has never been so important. The role of the ‘homehelp’ has evolved and today’s domiciliary care staff are well trained and often work in tandem with specialist care teams, enabling the elderly or those suffering with dementia or mental health problems for instance, a real choice to remain independently in the safe and familiar surroundings of their own homes."