LINCOLNSHIRE is heading for a crisis in elderly care unless cash can be found to keep pace with the needs of the county’s ageing population.
Unless there is a significant expansion in services, experts fear the county is sitting on a “ticking timebomb” over long-term care for the elderly, with an extra £9 million a year needed by 2021.
Over the past two years, Lincolnshire has reported higher rates of admission to residential and nursing care than comparable local authorities.
The county has the fourth highest rate of admission within that group and current estimates indicate that this level – or the number of permanent residents in care – shows no sign of decreasing.
Lincolnshire County Council supports 2,740 older people in long-term care.
A total of 1,960 are in residential care homes and the remainder in nursing homes. But the cost of these placements amounts to £70 million a year.
That figure is around 48 per cent of the total expenditure on all services for older people in the county.
A new report to the Adult Health Scrutiny committee outlines the prospect for the county’s elderly, if measures were not taken to reduce the numbers, particularly focusing on people over 85.
County council officer Nigel Sheridan said: “We will see much higher than average growth in the older population and in particular the 85-plus category, which is the age group that makes up the majority of people who require residential care.
“In seven years, unless there is a significant change in services, we will be admitting an additional 354 people to long term care each year at an average cost today of £25,000-a-year.
“That equates to an additional in year pressure of £8.9 million.”
The challenge of meeting an ageing population will present the council with a massive task, particularly as most long-term care residents are suffering from dementia.
People with less than the Government threshold figure of £23,250 in savings or assets can get residential care from the county council.
Those with more than the threshold figure in savings or assets can pay privately for their care – but still approach the council when their assets fall below the national figure.
The county is third lowest in terms of annual earnings, with a person in Cambridgeshire likely to earn £92,000 more during a 40-year working career than a Lincolnshire resident.
This would mean a Cambridgeshire inhabitant would be able to self-fund their care for an extra three-and-a-half years.
Source: Lincolnshire Echo
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