MP meets farmers

EAST Sussex County Council is appealing to the Government for extra funds to try to prevent a winter crisis in providing care for older people.

Council leaders have written to the Secretary of State for Health expressing serious concerns about the deteriorating position within social services.

They are calling for an urgent meeting to discuss the lack of funding from Government and the pressures this is causing in placing older people in residential and nursing home care, particularly those who are mentally infirm.

A council spokesman said: East Sussex was particularly affected by a Government decision in 1999 to change the way the social services spending assessment was allocated.

This failed to take into account people already in residential homes and reduced the amount of SSA for the county by 2.5 million.

The spokesman added: Many people who were funding their own care are now turning to social services as their money runs out.

The independent sector homes are also increasingly unable to accept placements at the rates the county council can afford.

It is feared that the time will come when the council will be unable to get sufficient care at the prices the social services budget will allow.

The whole situation is resulting in people who are being assessed as needing services having to wait because of the lack of resources available, and often having their discharge from hospital delayed, causing beds to be blocked.