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3.10 Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier of the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the provision for persons under 65 requiring residential/nursing care:
I am on the board of an organisation that does accommodate under-65s - Roseneath. Question: would the Minister identify whether the provisions for persons under 65 requiring residential/nursing care is sufficient?
Deputy A.E. Pryke of Trinity (The Minister for Health and Social Services):
The provision of care for people under 65 is very wide-ranging. The services we
provide include children and young people with special needs, adults with very complex mental health problems, and people with learning disabilities who are unable to live independently. In some areas, such as care for people with learning difficulties, we do very well as these services are very well developed. However, availability of appropriate services in some other areas, which include high-end residential care for people, some of whom have mental health problems, is under significant pressure and we could always do better.
- Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier:
Given the Minister's answer and given the fact that there appears to be emerging a group who are ironically on the wrong side of the 65 age barrier but quite clearly cannot stay in a home situation for a variety of reasons - they present multiple causes to the authorities - would the Minister acknowledge whether or not she is making provision for that group before the situation gets even worse than it is?
[10:45]
The Deputy of Trinity :
As I said, there are different areas of difficulties for people under 65 and our range is quite specialised, all of which have very specialised needs. Health and Social Services are very much aware of it. We had a workshop back in 2005 which involved both the community and residential settings just to look at these issues. From that workshop, we worked in partnership with a small number of service providers to successfully develop high-end residential nursing care for under-65s with complex needs. The intention is to repeat these workshops on a 2-year cycle and one is planned for the end of this year so that present and future needs can be effectively met.
- Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier:
It is a final question. Would the Minister tell the House when the workshops will be finished and when she and the Minister for Social Security will work out a financial arrangement to deal with what, at the moment, is a very serious anomaly? In other words, the inability often to finance such people in the under-65 group.
The Deputy of Trinity :
As I said, the workshop is planned for this autumn, so it will be work after that. Adding to this workshop too is the long-term care Green Paper results that have just gone out and we will always work in partnership with Social Security to look at these very important issues.
The Greffier of the States (in the Chair):
We come to question 11 that Deputy Power will ask of the Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources.
Deputy S. Power:
I wonder, could I withdraw this question? I have had a discussion with the Assistant Minister who was going to answer this and I feel it would be a better question if it was resubmitted as a written question.
The Greffier of the States (in the Chair):
Very well; that seems logical, Deputy . So we come to question 12 that the Deputy of
St. Martin will ask the Chief Minister.