” … Last February the Government sent consultants in to investigate the reasons for the particularly severe financial crises affecting Devon and 10 other NHS areas.
We still haven’t seen the results of their work. I have asked for it repeatedly. I was promised it “soon” by the Minister during my recent Commons debate, but still nothing. The Government appears to be in complete denial about the seriousness of the problem.
I suspect one of the reasons for the pressures in Devon is because the way the Government calculates the extra cost of looking after elderly people only goes up to 75. We have one of the highest numbers of over-75s anywhere in England. The very elderly and frail are more likely to be admitted to hospital and stay longer.
One of the main pressures and reasons for this winter’s Accident and Emergency crisis has been the difficulty hospitals have had in sending people home because the social care support packages are not there. So we are suffering a double whammy – NHS funding not reflecting the extra cost of looking after an elderly population at one end and a lack of support because of deep cuts in social care at the other.”
East Devon Watch 