Are our old People safe in their hands?

And we mean: Are they safe in the hands of “Your Waverley” and “Your Surrey County Council?” Because we, along with may of our followers, are not entirely sure they are?

It is estimated that older people will make up 20% of Surrey’population by 2021.

Letters have been dropping onto the doormats of some of the county’s most vulnerable old people telling them to expect substantial rises in the costs of caring for them at home. SCC  has also withdrawn its £50,000 subsidy towards the cost of supplying Meals on Wheels in the borough of Waverley and the WRVS was expected to  stop supplying the service  from September. In fairness to “Your Waverley’ it is doing its utmost to fill the gap, in some way or another, possibly through the borough’s day care centres. Although, it did accidentally  forget to include provision for the Meals on Wheels Service when it planned the Farnham Gostrey Centre’s move to the Memorial Hall – Oh dear!

The county council asked almost 7,000 elderly people currently receiving chargeable services in their homes, what they thought about an average weekly increase of £4.85 per week (ranging from 21 pence to £66 per week) and there was strong opposition against. Now the council will raise the percentage of income taken into account while setting charges from 90% to 100% and include the full rate of  person’s Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, when calculating their income.  This was previously a non means tested benefit.

“Now there we all were  being told by the Government to stay out of hospital and remain independent in our own homes as long as possible,” said one of our followers, “and in the next breath they are making life more difficult for us to stay at home.”

We have lost all the wonderful services we received from Age Concern, and now we have to go to Guildford or Horsham. We have heard the Alzheimer’s Group is going in Dorking, The Carers Association is suffering and the CAB’s are bulging at the seams with enquiries.

Increased charges for disposing of our rubbish are being imposed! The lights are going out all over Surrey between midnight and 5 a.m. when the night nurses are calling on us – how secure is that for those angels who work around the county tending to the needs of the very ill, and the dying amongst us.” It’s Madness! and now… the Government wants to cut hospital beds!”

Due to Government cuts Surrey County Council’s Adult Social Care Department has to  make savings of £55m  this year and £58m next year.