Older people in need let down by NHS

Posted 01/02/2016 By: Amanda Cavanagh

Older people in need of urgent help are being failed by the NHS, according to a group of English and Welsh health leaders. Too many over 65 year olds end up in accident and emergency unnecessarily, mainly it would seem because there is a lack of help for them when they fall ill.

The NHS Confederation’s Commission on Improving Urgent Care for Older People has called for radical steps, including providing urgent care at home and getting doctors to carry out “ward rounds” in care homes. The commission’s report said older people were “poorly served” and “all too often forced to go to A&E” and once in hospital they faced longer stays and losing some of their independence. They required help in navigating the complexities of the health and care system.

The report identified various schemes run throughout the country where the most frail and vulnerable people were managed at home. It also said GPs could identify and work with patients most at risk of hospital admission.

Dr Mark Newbold, who chairs the commission, said: “Older people do need to access A&E at times, and the best hospitals tailor their service to meet their needs. But all too often, older people are forced to go to A&E because the alternative services that would help them be cared for at home are not available at the time they need them.”

The Department of Health in England said the government was fully supportive of the ideas put forward and pointed out a pot of money, known as the Better Care Fund, amounting to £5.3 billion this year, had been set aside to fund schemes largely focused on keeping people out of hospital.

Amanda Cavanagh, a member of the clinical negligence team at Ashtons Legal, comments: “Keeping vulnerable older people out of hospital is an excellent initiative. However, what has yet to be addressed is the length of time vulnerable older patients remain in hospital, not because they are still unwell or require treatment, but because there are no facilities available to them for their safe return to their own home upon discharge”.