The Care of the Elderly
| Date | 01 October 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6403701009 |
| Published date | 01 October 1964 |
| Author | John Moss |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JOHN
MOSS,
C.B.E.
Chairman, National
Old
People's Welfare Council
THE
CARE
OF
THE
ELDERLY
The police often hear
of
lonely old people
and
may wonder how
they can be helped. Many, when they are old, live in isolation.
Their financial needs may be looked after by the National Assistance
Board coupled with a retirement pension under the national insurance
scheme or an old age pension if they did
not
contribute under
that
scheme. But there are still some who seem
too
proud
to apply for
national
assistance-perhaps
thinking
that
it is something akin to
relief which used to be given long ago under the
poor
law. This is a
wrong attitude to adopt. Anyone whose only income is a retirement
pension, or has very little other means, can
and
should apply to the
local officer of the National Assistance Board for help. The scale
of
assistance for those with no other resources is higher
than
the
pension rate
and
in addition arent allowance is payable together
with further allowances to meet special needs. A person may, in
fact, have other income
and
a small
amount
of capital
and
still be
entitled to assistance. Anyone who thinks he may be eligible for
assistance from the
board
can obtain a form from the post office so
that
his case may be investigated. A slip explaining the procedure
is included in new pension books.
Financial needs can therefore be met from national funds. But
money is
not
everything. Money
cannot
alleviate loneliness.
It
is to
help old people who are lonely
that
old people's welfare committees
exist, supported by voluntary organizations such as the Women's
Voluntary Service, the British Red Cross Society, Rotary
and
other
bodies. There are 1,500 old people's welfare committees in
Great
Britain. The local police should know the address of the secretary
of
the committee in their area.
Register of old people
Some people have advocated the establishment of a register
of
old people in the same way as there is a register of the blind
and
the
disabled. This has sometimes been suggested following newspaper
publicity
about
an old person who has been found dead in his home.
No register could, however, cover every such eventuality. The majority
of
people over pension age (65 for men and 60 for women)can manage
quite well on their
own-sometimes
with the help
of
relatives.
Many
would object to being listed on a special register
and
visited
to see if they were still alive and all right. In some districts, however,
there are registers of those elderly people who have been found to be
in special need. This is usually kept by the old people's welfare
committee and the police can help by drawing the attention of the
October 1964 501
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