"A world in which all men and women are true brothers and sisters, each individually and socially seeking the welfare of others is not a Utopia, nor unattainable ideal"This struck a resonance with me. This is something we should all be working towards. I suggest that we all challenge ourselves to review how we conduct our business. Is this true? Last night I was speaking to my sister who is a carers advocate in Essex. Budgets are being cut and people are not getting the help they need. Re-reading guest blogs from John Sullivan and Linda Edwards, this is also true in Barnet. If we can afford to pay the CEO of Barnet £200,000, surely we should be able to afford to look after the weakest people in society.
Have a good Sunday
Despite the promises of all three parties to safeguard carers their rights are constantly ignored. Whereas before the change of government it was fairly straightforward for a carer to get a direct payment for either practical help like housework or gardening, or perhaps training or even a massage or relaxation session this money has largely disappeared. In the grand scheme of social services budgets these were piffling amounts but they served as a recognition of the value of what carers do.
ReplyDeleteCarers budgets are the easiest target of all as so very few people walk away from their caring role, no matter the heartbreak which it may be causing. Carers save this country around £19 BILLION A YEAR, but the monetary value the government places on their services is £58.45.
There is a Minister for Care, Paul Burstow, whose profile is so low as to be below the radar even to those of us with professional involvement to carers. Maybe if we all wrote to him it might alert him to the fact he is supposed to have responsibility for 'Long-Term Care Reform; Adult Social Care; Carers; Personal Health Budgets; Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults; End of Life Care; Long-Term Conditions, including cancer and diabetes; Dementia; Mental Health; Physical Disabilities; Autism and Learning Disabilities' according to the Department of Health.