Increased number of young people in elderly care homes, charity warns

According to the Scottish charity Sue Ryder, there are hundreds of young people with neurological conditions being cared for in old people’s homes, due to a lack of specialist facilities.

The charity accumulated information from every local authority and health board in Scotland in order to find out how many people with neurological conditions were being care for in old people’s homes.

The brain conditions ranged from Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease (MND), Huntington’s disease and brain injuries. Of all the local authorities asked, just a third provided information, revealing that 53 people under 65 were being cared for in such facilities.

The charity claimed that if the same figures were replicated across the remaining health boards it suggested there were around 250 people being cared for in an inappropriate environment.

The information also revealed that a further 182 people over the age of 65 with neurological conditions were being kept in care homes for the elderly. The charity warned that this meant a total of nearly 1,000 people could be missing out on specialist treatment, support and rehabilitation.

Pamela Mackenzie, Sue Ryder's assistant director Scotland, said: "Older people's care homes do a great job for people in their 80s and 90s, but people with neurological conditions need a different environment.

"It is clear from our research that the needs of people with neurological conditions have largely been overlooked in recent years.

"We urge the Scottish government to take immediate action to address these inequalities so people with neurological conditions get the chance of a better quality of life."

Jamie Hepburn, the minister for health improvement, said: "Our 2016/17 budget sets out plans to invest a further £250m per year through health and social care partnerships, to protect and grow social care services, and invest £11.6 million to implement self-directed support.

"We also recognise the vital role specialist nurses play in patient care. This is why we committed £2.5 million of recurring funding for specialist nursing and care, including up to £700,000 to specifically target motor neurone disease care.”