Sefton and Wirral councils accused of abandoning pensioners

Jan 30 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

AN URGENT inquiry was launched yesterday into two Mersey councils who deny help to elderly people unable to wash, cook or shop for themselves.

Ivan Lewis, the social care minister, accused authorities which ration care of a “no help here” attitude – leaving the frail and infirm to fend for themselves.

They include Wirral and Sefton – and also Cheshire and Lancashire County Councils – who will only help elderly people whose needs are judged to be “substantial”.

This excludes people with “moderate” needs, who cannot carry out everyday tasks such as getting up in the morning, bathing, making meals, housework and shopping.

It leaves more and more elderly people dependent on friends and relatives for help if they cannot afford private care. Many become trapped in their own homes, critics say.

In contrast, Liverpool City Council, and other authorities in Merseyside and North Cheshire, do fund “moderate” need, highlighting the postcode lottery in care.

That lottery is exposed in a report, yesterday, by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), which revealed 73% of local authorities now refuse to fund “moderate” needs.

Announcing the inquiry, Mr Lewis said: “There is no logic to explain why some people are given support and others are not.

“Today’s state of social care report highlights major incon- sistencies in the way that eligib- ility criteria are being applied within, and between, local authorities.

“I want to see an end to the ‘no help here’ culture, which is now creeping into parts of the care system.”

But last night Wirral council hit back, pointing out the CSCI had praised it for the numbers receiving intensive home care, as well as for the fast delivery of equipment. Cllr Moira McLaugh- lin, cabinet member for social care, said: “Wirral Council bases its decisions on who should re- ceive social care on the national ‘Fair Access to Care Guidelines’.

“We are already making significant changes in social care services to ensure service users receive a tailor-made response to their needs.” Sefton Council declined to comment.

The inquiry will be carried out by the CSCI and will report back in the autumn, in time to influence new government proposals on the future funding of social care.

Yesterday’s report found that councils spent £14.2bn on social care last year, but the elderly paid £5.9bn for private care.

Across the country, 150,000 older people are paying for private care, having been denied it by their local council.

In its report, the CSCI highlighted how decisions on “filtering people out of the system” were increasingly taken by non-social workers.

Denise Platt, the watchdog’s chairwoman, said: “People who only five years ago qualified for council-arranged help are today excluded and left to fend for themselves.”

OPINION: PAGE 10