Said to be ‘virtually trapped in their own home’

From the [London] Times:

A growing number of elderly and disabled people are being denied help with washing, dressing and eating as more local authorities ration social care.

A report showed that seven out of ten councils restrict help to very serious cases, leaving others to pay for themselves or rely on family and friends.

The annual report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection found that thousands fewer people qualify for care now compared with three years ago, despite a 3 per cent rise in the number of people over 75.

… “People who only five years ago qualified for council-arranged help are today excluded by the system and left to fend for themselves,” said Dame Denise Platt, chairman of the commission.

… “People unable to rely on families or friends and unable to pay for care services themselves are simply left to cope with everyday life, while some become virtually trapped in their own home.”

From the Los Angeles Times (registration required):

A new industry of caregivers is emerging to take care of the growing ranks of elderly who are staying alive longer, thanks to advances in medical care. Where adult children may once have been able to keep an eye on their elders, the globalized economy has drawn many to workplaces far from home.

… an industry of local care coordinators is emerging to bridge the gap between far-off relatives and aging parents who may be overwhelmed by the labyrinth of medical and other services designed to help the aged and infirm survive in their own homes.

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From the Orlando Sentinel:

The sheriff’s office in Polk County has launched “Project Safe & Sound,” in which people with special needs are assigned a bracelet with a phone number for the sheriff’s office, a request to call for help and an identification number.

Officials say the program is designed to help children and adults with special needs get home safely.

The program was spearheaded by Crystle Feran, whose daughter has Down syndrome. (more…)

From the [UK] Telegraph, [UK] Guardian:

The Alzheimer Society in Britain is proposing an initiative that could lead to satellite tracking of tens of thousands of people in the early stages of the degenerative disease. A national debate is anticipated.

The charity said about 700,000 people in Britain had some form of dementia and up to 60 percent occasionally felt compelled to walk away from home without knowing how or where to return. This exposed them to danger and caused anxiety among relatives and carers.

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From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Early-stage Alzheimer’s disease patients and their caregivers get a new kind of support

Hectic holidays often expose symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

In the Los Angeles Times, projections that Alzheimer’s disease will ravage the economy.

By 2010, Alzheimer’s care will cost Medicare about $160 billion a year. By 2035, it could overtake the defense budget. One analysis has estimated that by 2050, Alzheimer’s will cost Medicare more than $1 trillion annually. Those numbers do not include privately insured and uninsured costs.

“From a social and economic view, it is about the money, the growing diversion of resources to sustain life in those increasingly unaware of their own lives,” Harry Tracy wrote recently in NeuroInvestment, his industry newsletter. “There is no greater public health issue looming in the developed world.”

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From the New York Times, a package of articles about Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists now think it begins long before symptoms are apparent.

“Alzheimer’s disease may be a chronic condition in which changes begin in midlife or even earlier,” said Dr. John C. Morris, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, where Ms. Kerley volunteers for studies.

But currently, the diagnosis is not made until symptoms develop, and by then it may already be too late to rescue the brain. Drugs now in use temporarily ease symptoms for some, but cannot halt the underlying disease.

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