The charity stood firmly behind not only their own care homes, but also the sector as a whole by challenging the government’s belief that for an older person to be able to retain their independence they must continue to live in their own home. Which is simply not true. Friends of the Elderly’s vision is for care homes that deliver interdependence, companionship and the security in which people can be themselves.
Chief Executive Richard Furze said “Our vision does not see care homes standing still but evolving to meet the needs of older people. Good care homes must deliver flexible care which is why where possible we will provide residential, nursing and dementia care all in one place if their needs change.”
Guest speaker Martin Green, Chief Executive of English Community Care Association, also challenged the government and the disconnect between policy and funding.
An area Friends of the Elderly also raised when talking about their home support service and the implications of contracting.
Richard Furze added “The fact is that there is often a considerable difference between commissioners setting out a sensible specification and the same commissioners being willing to provide the infrastructure and funding to deliver the service to a proper level of quality. We have recently withdrawn from one tender where we judged that a quality service was simply undeliverable; no doubt some organisation will take on the work but we fear that the users, who will have considerable dementia needs will suffer.”