Herefordshire’s five Age Concern centres are joining a new campaign to highlight concerns about the way the nation treats its elderly and the quality of care they receive later in life.
Called The Big Q, the campaign calls for the government to carry out a radical reform of the care system, enabling older people to keep their dignity, rights and control of choices they make later in life.
A survey showed that nine out of 10 adults aged 75 and over, and seven out of 10 of those between 18 and 34, were concerned about their future care needs and quality of care.
“The stories we hear from older people suggest that our community is right to be worried about the quality of care older people receive,” said Colette Colman, chief executive of Age Concern Leominster and District.
“In the most extreme cases we have seen, lack of appropriate care not only causes distress and removes indepen- dence but has contributed to rapid decline.
“The impact is not only on the adults receiving care but on the concerned family, whether local or out of county.
“Herefordshire is ageing faster than elsewhere, and the pull in care services is going to be immense. In a rural county, we have unique problems delivering care services at home – the government’s priority.
“Last year Age Concerns locally dealt with 19,700 enquiries across all our programmes, and we expect the percentage relating to care needs to continue to increase sharply.”
Age Concerns in Hereford, Leominster, Bromyard, Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye will kick-start their campaigns by lobbying local MPs.
lAnyone with concerns, a family case to discuss, in need of information or would like to show support, is asked to contact their local Age Concern, or call 0800 195 4550.
