Member Article

Lawyer concerned over-65s are ‘poised for hardship’

National Dementia Week, 17th – 22nd May 2015

“People over 65 are poised for hardship and worry over how they will be looked after in their twilight years,” says Sofia Tayton, a specialist in Care & Capacity law for the elderly, speaking ahead of this year’s National Dementia Week that runs from the 17th to 22nd May.

A partner at Lodders, Sofia heads the firm’s Care & Capacity team, which is the Midlands’ longest-established team of lawyers dedicated to providing legal advice and support to the elderly, vulnerable and their relatives.

The team specialises in providing guidance on continuing NHS-funded care, local authority funding and preservation of assets, Lasting Power of Attorneys, Enduring Powers of Attorney, and Court of Protection matters.

“I fear that access to vital help and support with the care needs of those aged 65 and over is set to face yet greater financial and emotional challenges,” says Sofia. “Recent research has highlighted that people over 65 simply don’t receive the care they need and that spending on care has fallen by a fifth in England in the last ten years.

“It’s not unusual for people to live thirty years past their retirement date - currently some 10 million people in the UK are over 65 years old, with projections for another 5.5 million by 2035, and around 19 million by 2050. This represents a huge element of the population and it is worrying the financial help with care for the elderly is on a downward slide.

“I am concerned the over-65s will be even less likely to receive the amount and level of care they need in the future, which in turn is bound to have a negative impact on GPs and hospital A&E departments that continue to struggle with a lack of resource and finances to support them.”

The research – conducted by the BBC and based on official data - showed £1,188 was being spent in 2003-4 per person over the age of 65.However, by 2013-14 the amount had dropped by 20 percent to £951, once inflation is taken account, prompting experts like Sofia to warn that vulnerable people are being failed.

“The statistics are sobering,” says Sofia, “with in the region of 420,000 people currently living in care and nursing homes across the UK, about one million receiving help in their own home, and a further 1.5 million relying on friends and family for day-to-day support with their care needs according to many estimates.”

Last month (April) saw the introduction of the Care Act 2014 and heralded the first changes to the laws and rules surrounding the rights of those receiving and providing care in sixty years. “The changes are very welcome, but I remain concerned the level of funding for care remains inadequate for long-term sustainability,” says Sofia

“The Act does bring the system surrounding care up to date, puts a duty on local authorities to advise on available and sustainable care services, and for the first time looks after the needs and demands of carers too, but my big concern is for the funding to support the changes - there just aren’t sufficient finances in place. Indeed, the Local Government Association has said these changes are under-funded by as much as £50million in the first year alone.

“With one in ten people likely to face costs of more than £100,000 to cover the cost of care whether in their own homes or a specialist care home, we all must plan for old age and explore the options to make financial provision for care.”

Lodders Care & Capacity team can help with support and guidance: “This type of planning and preparing for the unexpected is at best daunting,” says Sofia, “but we can help with these decisions, from choosing a care home and researching the availability of funding or how it can be self-financed, to applications for finances to cover the costs of Continuing NHS Healthcare, and challenging decisions if funding applications are turned-down.”

For more information about National Dementia Awareness Week, visit: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=200450

Lodders Solicitors LLP is an established and thriving law firm based in Stratford upon Avon, Henley in Arden and Cheltenham. The firm is recognised as a leading private client law firm, offering specialist advice to both private individuals and privately owned businesses, including its highly regarded work in the agricultural and real estate sectors. For more information, visit: www.lodders.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lodders Solicitors LLP .