DoH: Elderly are top priority

Care for the elderly is a top priority for the government, the Department of Health (DoH) has insisted.

A spokesperson for the department made the comment after a survey for the British Medical Association (BMA) raised concerns with the level of funding for elderly services.

"Everyone who has an elderly parent or grandparent will want to know we are doing everything in our power to protect vulnerable older people from ill treatment," the spokesperson said.

"That is why in March we unveiled a new package of measures which will strengthen the protection of vulnerable older people in our care system."

The spokesperson claimed these measures will protect publicly-funded residents of private care homes and ensure people funding their own care will have the right to refer complaints to an independent adjudicator.

The government has also launched a study to better understand the risk of abuse in care homes which it says will "help to inform our national campaign to put respect for dignity at the heart of all care services for older".