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 06 July 2008 01:22 BST

Healthcare services for elderly 'not good enough'

Monday, 12 May 2008 00:01
Doctors are unhappy with the healthcare services available for the elderly
Eight out of ten doctors believe healthcare services for the elderly are 'not good enough', a new survey finds.

The British Medical Association (BMA) published the findings today, which showed that only one in ten thought enough money is currently being spent on care for older people in the NHS.

The BMA asked around 500 GPs, consultants and staff grade doctors their views on the care currently provided.

Only one in ten of the doctors thought that activities provided in residential and care homes to maintain mental agility and physical exercise was adequate.

And two thirds claimed not enough services were currently available to support people with dementia.

"It's disgraceful that care services are so chronically under-funded. For example, cutbacks in my area meant I heard of elderly patients having their bathing reduced from twice a week to once a week, something which they found very distressing and dehumanising," chair of BMA's committee on community care, Dr Helena McKeown said.

"We no longer have an attached social worker, a community physiotherapist or a dedicated community psychiatric nurse so it's very difficult to give our patients the sort of joined-up care they need. It's incredibly frustrating for everyone
involved - all we want to do is help our patients and we can't.

"The funding of community services has not kept up with society's desire for people to stay in their homes for as long as possible. People deserve to have an old age that is fulfilling and dignified, at the moment I don't feel a lot of them are getting that."

However, it's not only those in care that are suffering, the BMA said. Support carers are not receiving enough time away from their jobs, four out of five of the doctors claim.

"Carers do an incredibly important but undervalued job which can often have an adverse affect on their own health," Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA said.

"So it's sad to see how widespread a problem this is, particularly in conjunction with the worrying findings in the survey about the level of services available for elderly patients. The BMA, working with other health colleagues, intends to lobby the government on these issues to try to make sure carers and older people get the healthcare they deserve."End of story


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