Care homes are like prisons, says county’s leader
12th February 2009
LORD Hanningfield has compared care homes to prison and called for them to be abolished.
The Essex County Council leader spoke out as the Conservative-controlled council announced it planned to spend £4million on technology to help elderly residents stay in their own homes.
The new equipment would include alarms, health monitors or sensors which would detect a fall, fire or gas.
Lord Hanningfield said: “No one wants to go into a care home – it’s like prison.
“They want to stay in their own homes.
“As soon as we abolish care homes the better and people can stay in their own homes with care and support.
“We are not doing it to save money.
“It’s more expensive to keep them in their own homes, but it’s what people want, They want to remain in their own home with their own possessions.”
However Paul Kirkman, leader of the county council’s Labour group, warned not everyone would be suited to the scheme.
He said: “It’s an intensely complicated area and I’m not sure the technology is at a stage where it can work.
“I think having a one size fits all policy is wrong as some elderly people don’t want to have to interface with it to access care and support.
“Obviously if someone gets dementia there is no way they could be left in this situation.
The commission also praised the council’s personalisation of adult social care throughout the county which began in October.
The system, called self-directed support, is a new way of working which gives service users greater freedom, choice and control over the kind of care support they receive.
Mr Finch has already publicly pledged that even though Essex residents are now benefiting from high standards of service, the council would not be complacent, but build on the ringing endorsement to ensure council services for the most vulnerable went from strength to strength in forthcoming years.
SOURCE: Gazette News UK
No comments:
Post a Comment