MP Helen Jones has condemned a decision by Cheshire and Merseyside NHS to offer elderly people leaving hospital only one choice of care home.
Local council officers should never have agreed to it, she said.
The Warrington North MP said the decision followed a telephone conference call with local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups on March 6 but has not been announced publicly.
She said: “The NHS has implemented an emergency protocol meaning that people are no longer offered a choice of two care homes. Instead people are offered only one choice and, if their choice is not available, then they are to be moved to an interim placement until it becomes available.
“This is a scandalous way to treat frail and elderly people who may now have to move twice. We know that these moves have a damaging impact on older people’s health and we also know that, as reported in the local media, more than one in five of care homes in Warrington are deemed to be substandard.
“This is not the way NHS managers or council officers would want their frail or elderly parents treated and, if it is not good enough for them, then it is not good enough for anyone else either.
“This suspension of patient choice was implemented as part of emergency
measures taken by the NHS. Yet if the government funded it properly our health service would not be in such a state.
“I understand that the council officer agreed to this on the grounds that, ‘it is currently more unsafe for people to be in hospital if they are medically fit for discharge.’ This is arguable, especially if they are having to move twice and are not being allowed a choice of where they go. This decision should not have been made by an officer.
“It is scandalous to treat elderly people, who have worked all their lives, in this way and illustrates the scale of the funding crisis in our NHS and social care.“
MP Helen Jones
“Scandalous way to treat frail and elderly” says MP
77 Comments
7 Comments
If Helen is privy to this information then why isn’t she doing more to play a part in resolving this rather than simply lecture others from the side-lines? Twenty years’ experience as an MP yet she offers no suggestions, no solutions, just a constant glut of criticism. This officer, undoubtedly, had a very difficult decision to take, one probably born of severe budgetary pressures placed up on himself/herself and was more than likely required to make a decision quickly. Real pressure and real decisions, affecting some very vulnerable people. Unlike Helen who, some might say, has no such equivalent responsibilities. And for her to dismissively suggest that someone taking this decision did so flippantly and wouldn’t accept similar treatment for a relative, in particular is a new low. She needs to utilise her clout as an MP, get people around the table and attempt to get to grips with the problems at hand. That’s what people expect to see their MP do because that’s what an MP is paid to do. Not engage in constant finger pointing which I’m afraid only reflects badly.
Billywires , if you can do any better then brecome an MP. If you are not willing to do that then shut up.
And right on cue comes another to ride to the defence of Helen. Are you a first time poster or just one using an alternative pseudonym Morphie? She is the MP and is paid an enviable salary to most so I would expect her to do more than to just blast people especially the ones who have tough decisions to make on a daily basis. Something Helen does not have to do. But tell me. Are you defending her because you disagree with my assertion that she should be doing more? Or are you defending her because you are a Labour party supporter? Or both perhaps? I’m all ears.
Sorry BILLYWIRES but your comment of ‘And right on cue….” did make me giggle. Reason being that every time there is a news story on here mentioning Helen Jones you always post under them criticising and having a right personal go at her. Sort of ‘….right on cue’ lol
No offence intended but you have to admit you do always do it and rarely post comment under any other news stories. Am I right in presuming you obviously don’t like her or the Labour Party ha ha. She certainly seems to stress you out a lot…have you tried meditation or deep breathing and relaxation classes 😉
No need to apologise but i must pick you up on a few points. It’s not every story and on a few occasions, only a few, I have actually praised her. So it’s not the case that it’s always criticism. And no I’m not anti Labour; I’m pro Labour and have my membership card to prove it. But I’m no fan of Helen Jones due to how she conducts herself, both publically and towards a number of labour party members. She doesn’t stress me at all but she will not allow constructive criticism of her within the party scene hence this. Do you think that the MP should do more rather than simply complain?
No answer Morphie? Okay, I cannot imagine that any right minded person would think that the MP should absolutely do nothing apart from moan and blame shift rather than roll her sleeves up and get involved more to find solutions locally. So I’ll have to assume that you are a Labour supporter/voter and it is the case that that you just don’t like to see criticism of your MP? Would that be correct? I guess that no response would confirm that you have just been asked to go online and defend her.
I didn’t know people used to have a choice which temporary care home they could be placed in for a short time after leaving hospital. Does anyone know the names of the two homes that it used to be and the one which that is to be now?
It would also be interesting to know how many beds this one chosen care home has and if it is solely used for after hospital convalescence or if it is a full time care home with just a few ‘after hospital’ bed places.
With the high number of elderly probably often needing a bit of care home after care convalescence following hospital admission and illness surely we should be seeing an increase in these short term available beds in MORE care homes rather than cutting them.
I hope the MP follows up on this and hopefully our other MP and those with a bit of clout will back the need for more to be done to help the elderly.