§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the costs of home care for the elderly and what choice old people have in what service they receive. [19357]
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§ Jacqui SmithCouncils have discretion under the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 whether to charge for home care or other non-residential social services. The Department issued statutory guidance, "Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non-residential Social Services", to councils on 23 November 2001.
The Department published for consultation draft National Minimum Standards for Domiciliary Care on 31 October 2001. Standards 7 and 9 concern the need to respect service users' choices.
Local "Better Care, Higher Standards" charters for long-term care are expected to set out the ways in which individuals' views about their care will be sought and respected.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on(a) primary and (b) intermediate care for the aged. [19356]
§ Jacqui SmithOlder people can expect the same rights of access to primary care as any other patient group. In addition, in recognition of the specific health needs of older people, patients over 75 are entitled to an annual health check from their general practitioners on request and, since 2000, all people aged 65 and over have been offered free immunisation against influenza.
The NHS Plan makes clear that intermediate care is a priority service for older people. This was reinforced in the National Service Framework for Older People. Intermediate care has an important role to play in tackling delayed transfers of care. A recent survey indicates that good progress is being made towards meeting the NHS Plan targets for intermediate care—by 2004 an extra 5,000 intermediate care beds and 1,700 supported places, together benefiting an additional 150,000 older people.