Greg Hands M.P. has welcomed the Government’s proposals to transform social care, which were published last week. The current system is variable, with different services and standards in different parts of the country, and it can place huge financial obligations upon families.
When the new measures are introduced:
- 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 applies to only 5.3 per cent of those paying for social care in Kensington and Chelsea and just 2.3 per cent in Hammersmith and Fulham.
From 2015, everyone will be able defer the costs of their residential care.
Commenting, Greg Hands M.P. said: “Almost every family is aware of the costs of care in old age. Once these changes are implemented, we will no longer see local people being forced to sell their homes to pay for residential care.
“It’s 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 Chelsea and Fulham.”