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CONFERENCE: Social care needs overhaul say Lib Dems
From Cathy Reay in Bournemouth
Disabled campaigners
voiced their concerns over social care at the Liberal Democrat party conference
yesterday.
Party members urged the Lib Dems to guide the government to a severe overhaul of social care services during a fringe meeting hosted by three disability charities.
The issues raised at the meeting included bringing in a more flexible approach to benefits, ensuring services that work together don’t shift responsibility onto one another, increasing salaries for those on the front line of health and social care and working further on the postcode lottery and how this affects disabled people in ‘bad’ regions.
David Simpson, a
disabled party member from Aldershot, said: “The biggest problem we always find
is the attitude of 'it’s not my budget; it’s yours' between local authorities
and public health services that should be working together rather than shifting
responsibility.
We’ve got far too many people higher up in the ranks with too much money and too much management.”
Robert Adamson, a disabled Lib Dem council candidate in East Yorkshire, added: “You’ve got a Primary Care Trust that covers part of a region and another that covers the rest, some of it overlaps and it just doesn’t work out.”
Gemma Roulston, who is disabled and works with the Lib Dem Disability Association said: “Eligibility to benefits and to care should be a lot easier than it is. We need to teach the Department for Work and Pensions and social workers what those conditions mean and in turn those that are eligible need to know what they are entitled to.”
Greg Mulholland MP for
Leeds North-West and member of the party’s health team said: “We need to try
and get any issues around social care, particularly for disabled people, on the
political agenda now otherwise it will go ignored in manifestos for the
upcoming election campaign.
Social care is underfunded and undervalued and the challenge now is how that can change in the next parliament.”
Social Care and disability and informal carers
I thought yes Lib dems look like a new fresh party but when you peel the surface off it looks like yet again disability, informal caring, are being put to the bottom of a list for us to wait another 20, 40, 60 years or even not in our life time.
I worry is it better to stick with what we have and believe me its far from perfect, and still be waiting a another life time or do we take a chance and end up much worse off having disability benifits slashed or taken away, losing the direct payments we fought for two years to get and some people have had to fight for even longer.
What would these political groups do if every informal carer walked out and went on strike, like civil servants, NHS workers, police, teachers etc, then the hospitals, social services departments would know what it is like to struggle trying to find assistance for every person with a disability, maybe they should think on or it could be an option we the people with disabilities and informal carers might have to take.
Block every local hospital up and every social services department, maybe then the rest of the voters in the country might stand behind us to and force the government in power to actuall sit up and take notice.
We want our equal rights and equality now our freedom of speech and independence.
We no longer wish to be kept down and forced out of society.
Lib dems by making changes for the better now you could have a million people in your corner that do not count to any other party, we as a majority could put you in power, so think on and bring us into the 21st centurary along with everyone else, give us the support we need, do not stop or cut direct payments (remember every penny paid in direct payments) pays a personal assistance wage with tax and ni contributions and they spend on bills and purchase goods, put them out of work and how many more will be signing on? How many families will be seperated?
Kind regards