2,000 elderly and ill die while waiting for care at home
- 2,037 patients died before care visits could be arranged over the last three years
- Many likely to have had illnesses including cancer and motor neurone disease
- Delays occur as social care budgets have been slashed leaving many suffering
- Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron described the delays as ‘utterly scandalous’
Sophie Borland Health Editor For The Daily Mail
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Thousands of seriously ill patients are dying while waiting for basic care at home, figures reveal.
In the past three years at least 2,037 adults died before care visits could be arranged in their homes.
Many are likely to have had illnesses such as terminal cancer, dementia or motor neurone disease which leave them housebound and dependent on help.
Thousands of seriously ill patients are dying while waiting for basic care at home, figures reveal. Stock image
In the worst cases, vulnerable patients were waiting for nine months for care to be arranged before they died.
Many were forced to spend their final weeks in hospital as care that would have allowed them to die at home was never arranged.
Others may have passed away at home having become increasingly reliant on family members for basic daily tasks.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who obtained the data, said the delays were ‘utterly scandalous’ and exposed the human cost of the social care crisis.
‘Behind these figures are real people with real stories of desperation and misery that would break your heart,’ he said. ‘Imagine it was your mum or your son waiting months for the help they need to live their life.
‘It is unacceptable that some people face this indignity – this has to change.’
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The delays have come about because council social care budgets have been progressively slashed and cannot meet the needs of the increasingly dependent population.
This has a knock-on effect on the NHS when frail patients end up in AE or stuck on wards as bed-blockers, unable to be discharged. The details were obtained through Freedom of Information requests to councils in England, Scotland and Wales and cover the period from 2014/15 to 2016/17.
However, only 183 local authorities replied out of around 400 so the actual number dying while waiting for care could be much higher.
Essex County Council admitted a patient had died after waiting up to 251 days – almost nine months – for a care package. And a patient covered by Sefton Council in Merseyside waited 239 days – just over eight months.
Several of the local authorities blamed the delays on high numbers needing care, and experts say the problem will only get worse because of growing pressures on council social care budgets.
Chris James, of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, said: ‘No one should die waiting for care packages.
In the past three years at least 2,037 adults died before care visits could be arranged in their homes. Stock image
‘Motor neurone disease often progresses rapidly and many people with MND have to fight hard to get the care they need, which adds unnecessary stress and burden on to what is already a devastating disease for the person with MND, their carers and family.
‘As pressures on continuing health care and social care funding grow, the potential is for this situation to only get much worse.’
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: ‘It is desperately sad to hear that some highly vulnerable older people are granted entitlement to care but then find it takes so long for their council to source it that they die waiting.
‘This is a tragedy for them and their families and shows just how ramshackle and dysfunctional the social care system has become.’
Scott Sinclair, of the Marie Curie cancer charity, said: ‘Delays in access to social care are a significant problem for people who are dying – and their families – as they can prevent them getting home or into a care home in their last days and weeks.’
Chancellor Philip Hammond tried to address the social care crisis in last month’s Budget with a £2billion funding boost.
But many experts say the whole health and social care system needs to be completely reformed, with new taxes to raise more money.
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