Sir, Have decades of debate and consultation really led to this; our Government “scrabbling around” for something to fill a White Paper on one of the most important issues facing our society (“Transform care for elderly, urge charities”, June 1)? A last-minute dash to find alternative policies to fill the social care White Paper in place of Andrew Dilnot’s proposals will see us continue to implement poorly thought-out policies in an attempt to patch up a fundamentally broken system. If we do what we have always done, we will get what we have always got: a system which is totally inadequate to meet the needs of today’s older people.
Nobody is saying that Dilnot’s proposals alone will solve the crisis, but the basic principle of capping individual costs will allow people to plan for old age while protecting the minority who will face exorbitant costs. It will create a framework for the development of a fair, comprehensible and, most importantly, sustainable system.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of reform, and we cannot give the Government any excuse to back out. If the Government does not introduce significant, wide-reaching reforms to social care, it will have failed in its responsibility to older people, both the current generation and those to come.
Leon Smith
Chief Executive, Nightingale Hammerson