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What's right for older people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David Jolley*
Affiliation:
Personal Social Services Research Unit, Manchester University, Dover Street Building, Dover Street, Manchester M13 9PL, email: David.Jolley@manchester.ac.uk
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Abstract

Type
The columns
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2009

Hilton's article is a clear and challenging description of the current state of play. Reference Hilton1 I understand her declaration of interest – ‘I work in a trust where I perceive older adults’ services to be less well-funded relative to services for younger adults’ – has been deemed controversial by some. How can this be? She is simply stating her perception of things and that perception is congruent with the truth of the matter in every mental health trust in the country, andin every settingin which older people receive sponsored care. 2

Things were much worse before we created specialist services, when older patients were housed in 50-bed wards and received no therapeutic input. 2 It was deemed they did not need therapy because they would not benefit from it. Yet older people and those of us who have worked with them have never shouted loudly for equality, preferring to make modest best-use of the resources made available to us.

I was astonished, when working for a while in a learning disability setting, to find that individuals with dependency and behavioural profiles quite commonly seen in old age services were regularly being supported with care-packages costing several times the top rate payable for older people with dementia.

Perhaps now is the time to ask for more.

Sadly, the Healthcare Commission's review ducks the issue, preferring to cite commendable examples of good practice and pursuing the line that age-related services should be abandoned. Reference Hilton1 That should bury the problem and make it less visible – just as it was when we came in. 2

References

1 Hilton, C. Psychological therapies, older people and human rights. Psychiatr Bull 2009; 33: 184–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2 Healthcare Commission. Equality in Later Life: A National Study of Older People's Mental Health Services. Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection, 2009.Google Scholar
3 Robb, B. Sans Everything: A Case to Answer. Nelson, 1967.Google Scholar
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