Home care: not just for the elderly
Apr. 13th, 2009 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenayI rarely post here on news issues because, although I'm a news junkie, everyone else out there tends to be discussing things with much more intelligence and thought than I could manage. Today I was checking through the blogs I follow over breakfast and spotted this entry from BendyGirl about home care: http://benefitscroungingscum.blogspot.com/2009/04/britains-home-care-scandal-panorama.html
She links to a Panorama report on home care for the elderly: http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_7990000/7990682.stm
The reason it stood out to me is because there are regularly news items out there about the poor standard of care for the elderly both in the home and in nursing and care homes. BendyGirl is different. She is my age, she has severely disabling EDS and should be receiving a full home care package. Due to the standard of home care that she received, she chose not to appeal when her package was removed.
BendyGirl does praise the wonderful carers that are out there, but sadly they are often the exception. A large part of the blame can be placed squarely with the private companies employing them and providing the majority of home care in the UK. There are good reasons why the UK government's Direct Payments scheme, while good in theory, does not work well in practise so most people needing care opt to accept private company care funded by the state instead. We should be horrified by the care that elderly people receive, but we should also be horrified by the care that the disabled receive and that's what doesn't get highlighted in these reports.
BendyGirl is my age so the sheltered, wardened flats that are routinely offered to the elderly cannot be given to her even though her needs are the same. I have (not very) fond memories of trying to get a suitable wheelchair for my uncle (who had osteogenesis imperfecta) on the state so it's no surprise that she is denied an electric wheelchair even though her shoulders and wrists dislocate too often to allow her to propel herself in a heavy NHS wheelchair. Given the right aids and support, BendyGirl is smart and could work part-time. She knows this, has acknowledged it freely, and it's one of the many things that makes her angry. Like far too many disabled people, the support is not available from government or employers. Home care does not cater for those who are working and need help with morning care routines. The aids that she would need to get to and around the workplace are far too expensive for even people on good full-time wages (never mind someone on benefits) to afford so she is stuck on benefits that ensure she cannot supplement the poor provisions with extras - such as an electric wheelchair - that would give her a better quality of life.
I have no idea what provision for the disabled is like here in Canada and I hope that I don't have to find out, but it's this kind of situation that makes me utterly furious and it's something that I'm far too familiar with.
She links to a Panorama report on home care for the elderly: http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_7990000/7990682.stm
The reason it stood out to me is because there are regularly news items out there about the poor standard of care for the elderly both in the home and in nursing and care homes. BendyGirl is different. She is my age, she has severely disabling EDS and should be receiving a full home care package. Due to the standard of home care that she received, she chose not to appeal when her package was removed.
When I eventually lost my whole care package despite the panic I felt at not having any assistance I was so terrified of social services and care companies that I made the decision not to appeal. Fully understanding what the consequences could be for myself I was very clear that I felt safer taking my chances of ending up dead on the floor than I would ever feel dealing with social services.
BendyGirl does praise the wonderful carers that are out there, but sadly they are often the exception. A large part of the blame can be placed squarely with the private companies employing them and providing the majority of home care in the UK. There are good reasons why the UK government's Direct Payments scheme, while good in theory, does not work well in practise so most people needing care opt to accept private company care funded by the state instead. We should be horrified by the care that elderly people receive, but we should also be horrified by the care that the disabled receive and that's what doesn't get highlighted in these reports.
BendyGirl is my age so the sheltered, wardened flats that are routinely offered to the elderly cannot be given to her even though her needs are the same. I have (not very) fond memories of trying to get a suitable wheelchair for my uncle (who had osteogenesis imperfecta) on the state so it's no surprise that she is denied an electric wheelchair even though her shoulders and wrists dislocate too often to allow her to propel herself in a heavy NHS wheelchair. Given the right aids and support, BendyGirl is smart and could work part-time. She knows this, has acknowledged it freely, and it's one of the many things that makes her angry. Like far too many disabled people, the support is not available from government or employers. Home care does not cater for those who are working and need help with morning care routines. The aids that she would need to get to and around the workplace are far too expensive for even people on good full-time wages (never mind someone on benefits) to afford so she is stuck on benefits that ensure she cannot supplement the poor provisions with extras - such as an electric wheelchair - that would give her a better quality of life.
I have no idea what provision for the disabled is like here in Canada and I hope that I don't have to find out, but it's this kind of situation that makes me utterly furious and it's something that I'm far too familiar with.
