The Increasing Number of People Needing Geriatric Care - Essay Example

Introduction As the developed world deals more and more with the pressures of increasingly older population, there is a need to evaluate and asses the impact of these developments to society. Among the sectors that are should be examined carefully are labour and geriatric care. This assessment is not only needed for the development of the necessary legislative and social initiatives to address the situation but also to gain perspective in dealing with these issues more effectively. The Sutherland Report is an effort to assess the state of programs for long term care available for the labour market. At the same time, is also has been adopted to become the standards of health care after retirement in the rest of Europe (Denters, 2005). After review of the Sutherland, the UK's NHS has identified twenty four key development points to respond to the findings of the study (see Appendix A). The report is not only identifying the programs or the needs for the sector but more importantly, it is highlighting the need to create social programs that consider broader issues in labour, compensation and welfare (Scottish Parliament Information Center). The report is challenging Challenges According to United Nations through World Health Organization (WHO) and the , United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Population Division (UNPD), the increasing number of people needing geriatric care is challenging the resources and manpower of health systems. The Democratic Health Network (2006) has been conducting a series of studies scrutinizing the changing role of health and welfare systems today. Many of their researches have highlighted the increasing critical role of these programs in ensuring the well-being of elderly citizens and the insufficiency of research knowledge and advocacies for them. In 2004, Haider and Solong have highlighted that within the demographic is an even more vulnerable sector. They have identified that the neediest of the socialized services have little access due to either historical marginalization or because of the deterioration of regional health services due to economic constraints. This has prompted the NHS to pursue more extensively coordination with labour force surveys to anticipate the future needs for geriatric care. Health services are being stressed both institutionally and operationally. Increasing costs of health services due to technology and professional upgrades have been the focus in recent years but have been severely deterred by budget set backs. Some analysts even believe that even if health and welfare institutions have the resources to high more manpower of open more institutions, the lack of professionals to manage them will likely negate their efforts (Bouguet, 2002). At the other end of the spectrum to be considered are those who need the services. It has been the motivation of medical science to extend the life span of people and they may just have been had too much success in it. As many medical innovations have extended survival rates, health and social programs to cater to the increased demand for the elderly have not been developed proportionately (Lothian, 2001). It estimated that 300 Million is needed annually to address the most urgent of social service needs as highlighted in the Sutherland Report (Scottish Parliament Information Center, 2000). As the number those falling under the classification of needing geriatric care, the figure can be expected to balloon to as much as 1 Billion pounds a year. Response It should be noted that efforts to review existing health care programs began in the late 1990's and that the Sutherland Report is only among the many studies conducted by various sectors to assess the healthcare and welfare industry (Democratic Health Network, 2006). The reason that the report has gained the consideration given to it is in its significance to geriatric care and the labour industry. After the publication of the report, government agencies and other industry players made their own recommendation based on its findings. The implementation of the recommendations was delayed repeatedly. Upon the implementation of the report, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm stated that the delays were "due to practical reasons and not a change of policy" (as cited in Scott, 2002). The reality is that though all of the recommendations are universal recognized as necessary by all sectors, the reality is that the implementing them has significant constraints and limitations. Consider the issue of free personal care. Scott (2002), estimates that the cost of the services, which was 125 million in 2002, will rise to be about to 227 million by 2022. The sheer size of the funds that need to be allocated has not only compromised the programs concerning personal care but also all other recommendations as enumerated in Appendix A. It is estimated that though the government has approved the said recommendations, the critical question is the degree by which that they have been actually implemented and the level that they have raised the quality of life of those who are to receive the services (Democratic Health Network, 2006). At the end of 2006, the government has included in its efforts greater participation by the private sector and interest groups. The effort is both to create more effective programs with the feedback of more stakeholders and at the same time to augment the deficiency of existing resources (Bouguet, 2002). In addition to the difficulties regarding the programs themselves, the recommendations have been affected by political debates regarding their implementation and the attached costs and requirements in their implementation (Beattie and Scott, 2002). Evaluation Considering alone the recommendations in Appendix A, it estimated that all of the recommendations are already being mandated by the various new health regulations. However as evidenced by the actual experience of the elderly, the success rates have just been varied (Democratic Health Network, 2006). The degree by which they are accessed or implemented is more difficult to measure since no comprehensive assessment survey has been done since the Sutherland Report itself. The controversies regarding the contents of the report and its recommendation continue to be a popular issue of debate (Beattie and Scott, 2002). The focus of most evaluation papers of the Sutherland Report in current literature concentrates on the number of programs actually programs implemented. This is not exactly in line with the core of the Sutherland Report itself (Denters, 2005). More important than the quantitative or tangible recommendations of the report are its qualitative objectives. The objective of the report more than anything else is to raise the standards of quality of life of people and of the long-term care they receive. Currently, there is no concrete study that addresses whether the qualitative objectives of the report have been met. Considering that the programs have only gained momentum in the last two years, this deficiency may still be easily addressed. However, to affect this, the government must be able to focus not only on the operational recommendations but also gauge the quality of long term care today from those who receive the services. The challenges for the Sutherland Report today remain the same. The divergences on its recommendations will also likely remain subject to debate. The opinion is that there is still much to be done to be able to make possible the vision for long term care that the Sutherland Report sets. Most efforts today have been concentrated on increasing competency and not necessarily the ideological premise of the report. Though these efforts are essential for creating the infrastructure for the industry, the Sutherland Report can only fully realize its objectives when Old Age Long Term Programs becomes fully available and accessible to the elderly who need them most. References Beattie, Jason and Scott, David (2002). Tories split over policy on free care. Scotsman News. Retrieved on January 18, 2007 from http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfmtid=170&id=120912002 Bouguet, D. (2002). Convergence in Social Welfare Systems: What Are We Talking About. Comparing Dynamics of Transformation of Social Protection Systems in Context of Globalization and European Construction. Oslo: Welfare Reforms for the 21st Century - Second Conference Democratic Health Network (2006). Accountability of the Health Service. Retrieved on January 18, 2007 from http://www.dhn.org.uk/module1-detail.jspsection= what_we_do_dhn&id= 14 Denters, Erik(2005). The Sutherland Report. Leiden Journal of International Law 18 Cambridge University Press: 887-899 Haider, Steven, and Solong, Gary (2004). Life Cycle Variation in the Association between Current and Lifetime Earnings. University of Michigan Mimeo. Lothian, Kate (2001). Maintaining the dignity and autonomy of older people in the healthcare setting. BMJ. 322 (7287): 668-670. Scott, David (2002). Labour in a shambles over free care for elderly. Scotsman News. Retrieved on January 18, 2007 from http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfmtid=170&id=56842002 Scottish Parliament Information Center (2000). Royal Commission on Long Term Care (Sutherland Report). London: SPIC. Simon, Antonia and Owen, Charlie (2005). Using the Labour Force Survey to map the care workforce. Labour Market Trends- Special Feature. Edinburgh: Office for National Statistics United Nations Population Division (2000). Replacement Migration: Is it A Solution to Declining and Ageing Populations. New York: UNPD Appendix A - Summary of the UK Government's Response to the Royal Read More