UK’s Brown promises free home personal care for frail elderly

Free personal care will be introduced so thefrailest can be cared for in their own homes, Prime Minister GordonBrown has pledged.  Under what is being dubbed the NationalCare Service, some 350,000 people with “the highest needs” wouldreceive home care regardless of personal wealth.  Currently anyone withsavings over £23,500 receives no state assistance.  Ministers hope toimplement the scheme in England by mid-2010. A general election must beheld by early June.

He also elaborated on manifesto plans to overhaul the current systemof social care for the elderly, which is seen by many as punishingthose on modest incomes who have saved for their old age.  The National Care Service will bring together the NHS and localauthorities which currently provide social services, Mr Brown said.  Theproposals for personal care will affect some 350,000 people in Englandwho require assistance with every aspect of day-to-day living – fromdressing to cooking. It would not apply to those already in residentialcare, but in principle help people to remain in their homes.  Atotal of £400 million a year will be taken from low priority areas ofthe NHS budget, including marketing and communications, to help pay forthe plan.

Source/more: BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8281168.stm