Welfare Reform on the Web (August 2005): Care of the Elderley - UK

Assisted living: a housing-based alternative to residential care?

G. Aleksich and others

Caring Times. July/Aug. 2005, p.26-29

Article presents a roundtable discussion by professionals in the field of issues surrounding assisted living schemes for older people such as retirement villages and extracare housing. Discussion covers experience of assisted living schemes in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, difficulties with obtaining planning permission for schemes in the UK, funding, and unresolved regulatory issues.

The business of caring: King’s Fund inquiry into care services for older people in London

J. Robinson and P. Banks

King's Fund, 2005

Study found that older people and their carers in London were experiencing:

• Restricted access to care and practical support
• Limited choice and control over care services
• Being put at risk from untrained and unqualified staff
• Hardship caused by inadequate funding and controversy over who pays for long-term care

The inquiry concluded that at the root of these problems was a complex care system that relied on a mixture of market forces and government policy to deliver the right quality and quantity of services. Many older people are vulnerable consumers in this market as they often lack knowledge of what is available, opportunities to influence the quality of care on offer to them, and money to purchase what they need.

Call for bloodletting after King’s Fund tears into care services

G. Carson

Community Care, July 7th-13th 2005, p.14-15

A recent report by the King's Fund think tank has revealed serious deficiencies in social care services for older people in London. With money in social services budgets being diverted to child and family support, funding for improvements may not exist.

Digital Unite: making IT part of everyday life

G. Adams

Working with Older People, vol.9, no.2, 2005, p.22-25

Describes how older people in sheltered housing can be trained to communicate effectively using the Internet.

Housing for people with dementia

K. Reynold

Working with Older People, vol.9, no.2, 2005, p.30-32

Fred Tibble Court in Barking is a specially commissioned extracare estate for people with dementia. Article explains how the design, interior decoration and layout, combined with the estate's other extensive facilities and activities, help promote independence for residents.

Income-based assessment: why savings criteria should be scrapped

I. Holden

Caring Times, July/Aug. 2005, p.30

Proposes a new system for assessing whether or not older people in residential care should qualify for state funding based on income from pensions, investments and a nominal return on the value of their property. This would replace the present assessment system based on savings.

Mainstreaming telecare

M. Preece

Working with Older People, vol.9, no.2, 2005, p.26-29

Presents a case study of a project in Staffordshire which used assistive technology to enable frail older people to remain independent and living in their own homes.