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16
WQ.227/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 16th JUNE 2020
Question
Will the Minister advise how he proposes to reduce both the number of people aged over 65 who are in nursing or residential care (around 400 per 10,000 population) and the consequential expenditure on Long- Term Care (around £50m annually) in order to deliver the Jersey Care Model in the context of an ageing population?
Answer
There are several levers for reducing demand for residential care. However, we must also bear in mind that with the demographic changes over the next decade and growth in real terms of the over-65 population, the levers will only reduce demand growth, but not necessarily actual placement numbers.
These are areas for development that we have highlighted in the Jersey Care Model:
• Invest in public health schemes to keep people healthier for longer
• Build intermediate care services that a) help people manage conditions in their own home for longer and b) assist in their recovery in their own home (rather than place them into residential care)
• Develop a more robust domiciliary care market to supply demand for home care which helps people live at home for longer
• Improve discharge processes so people do not deteriorate physically during long periods in hospital
• Continue to develop social care practices to support early intervention and out of hours support to help people stay in their own home rather than default into residential care.
During the response to COVID-19, we have already started to make changes that positively improve the choices people have in the way they receive their care. We have introduced an out of hours social care service, which supports people that may otherwise have moved into residential care. Many new staff from the hospitality industry have been trained as Health Care Assistants, supporting community care. The hospital discharge process has been greatly improved and is better coordinated with social care. Even before COVID-19, the social care team were working on early intervention practices, which have been shown to avoid hospital and residential care admissions.
There is still much to do, but we will continue to invest in high quality care services to facilitate choice for Islanders.