The current situation for Our Elderly Communities is Dire and reflects the need for us to act - I am sure that you would agree that the cost of living is far too high for our most vulnerable citizens – many are worried that they will live out their lives in poverty without the basic human rights securities – Headlines such as 100 year elderly lady removed from care home due to lack of funds!

Age Concern Director General Gordon Lishman said:

“The latest reports show a widening chasm opening up between those who get council supported care and those who don’t.  Fewer people are receiving care at home despite increasing needs and the government saying these services are a priority.  People are missing out both because of very tough means testing and increasingly restrictive and arbitrary assessments of people’s needs.

“A review of eligibility criteria is very welcome but what is urgently needed is a substantial increase in care funding and fundamental reforms which should follow the Green Paper.  A new partnership between the state and individuals must deliver better quality, improved access and a fairer way of paying for care.”

We as a society really must address this situation before such issues undermine the very fabric of our community structures.  

Our Elderly citizens deserve our immediate attention- How many are living in poverty? How many more carehomes must close because lack of funds? How many more vulnerable elderly citizens are to be thrown on to the streets because 'our Governments are failing to address their needs'.  We will all be elderly at some point - we must appreciate that the structure that we leave must also serve us! 

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Did you Know a Report (15.02.08) Warns that more than a million older people are shut out by government-

Think about this- Solitary Confinement is known to be a form of mental torture. 

Over a million older people1 – including one in five people over 80– are shut out from society and ignored by government policy, according to a new report by Age Concern. The charity is warning that severe exclusion among older people is a significant and pressing problem that will not disappear without urgent government action.

Research reveals that the risk of exclusion increases with age – leaving many older people without access to things that most people take for granted, such as a decent home, close friends and regular company, stimulating activity and access to local services.

Key research findings:

• 56% of severely excluded people aged over 50 are in poor health.
• 40% of severely excluded people aged over 50 are lonely.
• 45% of men and 34% of women over 80 who live alone are lonely, as are 62% of recently bereaved older people.
• People aged 50-64 are eight times more likely to be severely socially excluded if they rent their home privately than if they own it or pay a mortgage.
• 25% of people over 80 living in their own homes have significant memory problems – of these, one in four (26%) are severely excluded.

More than a decade after Tony Blair first put social exclusion on the political agenda,5 the government is still failing to help many of the most disadvantaged older people. Despite publishing A Sure Start to Later Life6 and promising a “lifetime” approach7 to the problem, the government’s current strategy on tackling social exclusion makes no mention at all of older people.8  The social exclusion of older people hasn’t just fallen down the Government’s list of priorities – it has dropped off it altogether.

The report warns that even policies that have helped many older people have failed to reach those facing the most severe exclusion. In fact many public services have actually got worse: funding for services to keep older people active and socially engaged has been cut in many areas; personal care in the home for people with moderate disabilities has all but ended; and post offices across the country – a lifeline for many older people – are being forced to close.

The charity is calling on the government to honour its pledge to tackle the social exclusion of older people and put the issue firmly back on its agenda.

Key report recommendations:

• Joined-up high profile leadership: there must be a cross-departmental government commitment to help the most disadvantaged older people.
• ‘Age-proof’ inclusion and renewal programmes: central and local government strategies for tackling social exclusion and neighbourhood renewal must include older people.
• Re-model local services around the needs of the most excluded: local authorities should ensure their services are joined-up, user-friendly, rooted in the community and flexible enough to reach out to vulnerable older people.

The report also profiles four groups of older people who at high risk of social exclusion, and outlines simple, low-cost proposals to improve their situation. Proposals include introducing local programmes to enhance social contact for people who are over 80 and living alone; improved support services for people who are recently bereaved; nationwide ‘handyperson’ schemes for people who are living in unfit housing; and improved support for independent advocacy for people who have limited capacity to make their own decisions.