Many older and disabled people will be shut out of vital services under the Government’s plans for reform of the care system in England, charities have warned.
The Care Act, which passed into law last month, has been widely criticised by age and health charities, as well as companies providing care services.
Care and support minister Norman Lamb has now launched a consultation on the draft regulations and guidance for the first part of the act.
But charity director at Age UK, Caroline Abrahams, said the new regulations were ‘not good enough’ and claimed people with dementia who needed help to continue to live at home with dignity could be ‘screened out’, as well as those who struggled with day-to-day tasks such as dressing, washing, going to the toilet or preparing food.
Richard Hawkes, chairman of the Care and Support Alliance, a coalition of 75 organisations, accused the Government of ‘passing up’ the chance to drive through a ‘genuinely preventative system’.
The consultation is open until August 15 and centres on the changes that will come into effect from April 2015.
