New "one stop" care advice service launched
By Jayne Warren - 04/09/2008
A new service, called FirstStop, has been launched for older people, their families and carers seeking advice on care, housing and finance - just as recent research shows that older people find accessing information about social care difficult and confusing.
Research has shown that two thirds of adults over 35 are concerned about the future cost of care and accommodation facing them or an older member of their family - not surprising given that the cost of care could be the biggest financial burden many people will ever face - and residential care home fees have increased by 51.5% in the last five years with costs predicted to double in the next 20 years.
The care funding system itself, which varies across the UK, is notoriously complicated and constantly changing, leaving many older people and their families are struggling to navigate a maze of information. Of those questioned in the survey who had recently been involved in a decision about care and accommodation 61% said they felt worried that they’d made the wrong decision about care, and 71% said the process would have been much easier if they could have accessed information from one source.
FirstStop claims to be a single gateway to free, independent information and advice about all aspects of care, housing and finance for older people. It aims to help older people, their families and carers to understand their rights and options and thereby make informed decisions about care, housing and finance. FirstStop estimates that 1.25 million people in England could potentially benefit from housing advice, and over half a million could be seeking information about care issues at any one time.
Advice is available on a wide range of topics including care fees and funding care fees, choosing the right care home, social care provision, benefits and rights. Callers to the advice line will first have their enquiry assessed by specially trained advisers. Following assessment, callers may be passed directly to a specialist who can answer more complex questions and help navigate older people and their carers through their care, housing and finance options.
The FirstStop advice service will be delivered through a comprehensive website, linked below, and a single dedicated phone line (0800 377 7070) to be piloted in London and the South East. The service is operated Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and calls are free from BT lines. FirstStop aims to have the advice line service available nationally by the end of 2011.
The FirstStop service is being funded through a combination of a Big Lottery Fund grant and contributions Help the Aged, Counsel & Care, Elderly Accommodation Counsel and NHFA.