Elderly Persons (Accommodation)

HC Deb 05 March 1984 vol 55 c597

14. Dr. Roger Thomas

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if the availability of part 3 accommodation for the elderly in Wales has kept pace with the increase in numbers of potential clients for the residential service.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

There is no generally agreed definition of the potential clientele for residential care. However, since 1979 the population aged over 65 in Wales has increased by some 4.5 per cent., while the total number of residential places provided for elderly people in local authority, private and voluntary homes has increased by almost 16 per cent.

Dr. Thomas

Is the Minister aware of the great difficulty of local authorities in receiving patients who have been discharged from geriatric hospitals? There are not enough rooms in local authority homes for people who have been discharged. The result is a log-jam and people have to be kept in geriatric wards, which excludes others who need urgent admission.

Mr. Roberts

Yes, I am aware of the problem to which the hon. Gentleman has referred. That is why we have always stressed to local authorities the continuing need for available resources to be concentrated on those services which support people in their homes in the community. Furthermore, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the county authorities have increased their spending on personal social services for the elderly from £22 million in 1978–79 to £40 million in the current year, so they are doing their best to tackle the kind of problem to which he refers.

Mr. D. E. Thomas

Does the Minister accept that the cuts that his Department has imposed on local authorities make it very difficult for social services departments and healh authorities to cope with the demands of an increasingly elderly population? Does he not recognise that this should be a key area in terms of funding, not just in terms of policy pronouncements?

Mr. Wyn Roberts

It certainly is a key element in both. That is why I said that we had drawn particular attention to the increasing numbers of elderly people and asked local authorities to give them high priority.