Health Funds Should be Diverted into Elderly Care

The body representing independent care services have called for health spending to be frozen and the subsequent funds diverted into improving care for the elderly.

Scottish Care stated that better investment in social care and aid for older people would improve lives and cut hospital admissions. According to the representative body, such an emphasis on cuts would remove the taboo of health care costs for the government.

Analysis of Care for Elderly

A report from the Scottish Care group found that in 2012-13, the average emergency hospital admission for over-65s lasted for 11.8 days, at an average cost of £4,846. The umbrella body's report stated that this amount could fund care at home for 27.7 older people or 9.28 weeks in a residential care home for one pensioner. According to figures, the unscheduled admissions for over-65s amounted to a third of the £4.5bn spent on health and social care for older people.

Ranald Mair, chief executive of Scottish Care, said: "If we're going to manage to keep more people out of hospital, to maintain them in their own homes and also to prevent them going into long term care at an early stage, then we actually have to invest in home care.

"The danger at the moment is that we're continuing to invest in hospitals and as you know, all politicians want to be the defenders of the NHS.

What we know is that over 20% of admissions of older people to hospital are 'unnecessary' admissions.

"They're not going in because of their clinical needs; they're going in because of their circumstances and because of the lack of alternatives."

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