PRIVATE SECTOR IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE: PRIVATE HOME NURSING
The need for long-stay beds in the health sector will not go away, yet in some districts the geriatricians have been encouraged to get rid of all this type of bed because of the blossoming private sector locally. I do not see this as choice at all, both the USA and Australia have gone down this path with disastrous results. It is expensive and with few exceptions does not provide sufficient multidisciplinary care with enough expertise for the client group involved.
There will always be a role for the private sector in health and social care but not in this rapidly expanding way. If some of the money had been ploughed into the state sector, both health and social services would have come up with imaginative and bold schemes to provide choice and a spectrum of care for the frail elderly of all complexions. Geriatric medicine was born out of the neglect of the old and if we are not careful it will be rediscovered, and the wheel will be re-invented in the rest homes and nursing homes currently being filled in this country.
Private home nursing is available and there are many agencies that advertise their services. Many types of service are available, ranging from day nursing to night care, as well as skilled or semiskilled cover. It tends to be expensive and currently agencies are charging 12-14 pounds for one hour only, 6-8 pounds for more than one hour for a nurse to provide general care.
Specialist private housing for elderly people is another area that is expanding rapidly. Many firms are realizing, a little late perhaps, that there are a lot of elderly people with money to spend. For this group, many marketing skills are being used, advertising the advantages of moving to purpose built accommodation with the retired person in mind. Some schemes are simply based on architecture (no stairs, rails around baths, etc.); others are more like sheltered housing, with wardens employed and alarms fitted in the rooms. Other schemes envisage a sort of retirement village with all the amenities suited to the pensioner (similar, but much smaller to Sun City in the USA). Many financial packages are available to make purchase appear attractive. Thought should always be given, however, to a change in circumstances, especially if one's spouse is already disabled either physically or mentally. The nearness of medical and social help as well as family and friends is vitally important.
*67/128/5*
GENERAL HEALTH
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