Local MP attends mass lobby

North Dorset MP, Robert Walter, met with members of Dorset Age Concern and the Shaftesbury and Villages 50+ forum for the National Carers Week lobby in Parliament yesterday (10 June).

Bob met representatives led by Jane Gould, Chairman of the Shaftesbury and Villages 50+ Forum, at the Age Concern and Help the Aged mass lobby of Parliament. The 50+ Forum joined hundreds of older people from across the country to share their personal experiences of care in later life. Jane Gould and campaigners met Bob in Westminster Hall to discuss their concerns and highlight how they believe the complex system can be improved.

The mass lobby was part of a nationwide campaign to improve the quality of care for older people. Thousands of events take place throughout the UK this week, supporting and celebrating carers’ achievements. In every part of the country carers are raising awareness about their needs.

Carers Week is celebrating the contribution that carers make to those they care for, and to their communities.

Eight out of ten people in Britain are very concerned about the quality of care they or their loved ones will get in later life. For example, getting help with everyday tasks like getting out of bed, washing, dressing and taking medication.

Following the lobby Bob said: “The current care and support system is a disgrace. I would support the introduction of individual budgets so that people can take care of their own care needs. It is widely acknowledged that when individuals are given control of their own budgets they receive much more efficient and varied services than when the state simply procures services on their behalf.

“I am joining with the lobby campaigning to influence and inform opinion-formers and decision-makers, who can have such an effect on carers’ quality of life. Every carer’s role and experience is different, but every one of North Dorset’s nine thousand carers and the rest of the UK’s six million carers know that carers need, and deserve, better support and services not just this week but every week.

“Too many people are currently forced to soldier on without the care they need, slowly stripping away their dignity and independence. I know that social care is one of the most vexed and delicate questions in British public policy, but it is time the Government took real action to deal with those who are not receiving the support they need.”