Capitalism And Cuts

The increasing rationing of state funded care, as councils attempted to slash costs, has left growing numbers of elderly people without access to the care system. In turn it has forced millions of family members to step in, many of them giving up their own jobs. 'The acute shortage of care for older people in Britain is exposed in official figures showing how the population of care homes was left virtually unchanged during a decade which saw the biggest expansion in the overall elderly population ever. According to a study published by the Office for National Statistics the number of people in care homes in England and Wales rose by only 0.3 per cent in the decade between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, standing at just   short of 291,000. But the overall number of over 65s jumped by 11 per cent in the same period - 37 times faster.' (Daily Telegraph, 6 December) Having suffered a life of exploitation and poverty old workers' misery continues. RD