More than a third of requests for social care support for people aged 65 and over in Suffolk went unanswered, according to figures from the NHS.

An additional 65 deaths were also recorded of people for whom requests for help had been made, but none had been forthcoming, the NHS Digital statistics for 2021-22 show.

In total, 15,565 requests were made in the county, with 4,165 not receiving a response, leaving many without the care they needed, which could include help with basic needs, such as going to the toilet, washing, eating and getting dressed.

READ MORE: https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/national/23097521.elderly-cut-back-care-cost-of-living-crisis-bites/

Charity Age UK has expressed 'deep concern' about national figures that have shown that 28,890 requests were made during the period for people aged 65 and over who had died without any services being provided.

The charity's director Caroline Abrahams feared there were many tragedies being 'played out silently behind closed doors' involving elderly people whose care needs were not being met.

She said: "There isn't enough social care to go round and so some older people are waiting endlessly for help they badly need.

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"It is heartbreaking that on the latest figures, more than 500 older people a week are going to their graves without ever receiving the care and support to which they were entitled.

She said the situation could not be blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic because social care services were struggling to secure enough staff and funding in the years before the virus struck.

"Since then, all the evidence is that the position has not got any better and, on most measures, has continued to get worse," she added.

However, councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, the county council’s cabinet member for adult social care, said the figures related to requests and not individual people, while not every request was eligible for support.

This included cases where people could fund their own care or had 'low level' care needs that could not be supported by the council.

She added: “Today, Suffolk County Council is supporting over 9,900 people across Suffolk to live good, independent lives as part of their community.  

"Despite the well-publicised challenges faced by the social care sector, I am really pleased that our waiting lists for people who have been assessed and are awaiting care, are back to pre-pandemic levels and we are continuing efforts to reduce them further still.

"This is a testament to the hard work of staff within the council’s social care team and I give them my thanks."   

 

READ MORE: https://www.eadt.co.uk/local-news/suffolk-news/