Penny campaigns in Corby

Age UK’s ‘Penny the inflatable piggy bank’ came to the Willows Shopping Centre in Corby on Friday 21st September to highlight the urgent need for more funding for social care.

With the latest data suggesting 1.4m older people go without the care and support they need, and that the social care crisis is costing the NHS over £500 per minute, this summer 'Penny’ has been taking to the road across England to bring attention to the need for the Government to provide more funding.

Chief Executive of Age UK Northamptonshire Chris Duff said: “Due to the #Carecrisis in England, too many older people have their discharge from hospital delayed due to a lack of care provision when they return home.  We don’t think this is acceptable and want to see the Government solve the #Carecrisis as soon as possible.”

Shoppers and visitors to the shopping centre were asked to fill in postcards which will be sent to local MPs, asking them to treat social care as a priority and ensure that the Government’s Green paper is published in the autumn.

Penny the piggybank has already been to York, Sutton, Plymouth and Brighton, and plans to visit the party conferences in Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: “Delayed discharges from hospital due to a lack of funding show the Government's current approach of feeding the NHS at the same time as starving social care is simply a recipe for wasting money, and one that produces a lot of suffering and distress for many older people in need. 

"We are really pleased the Government is giving more money to the NHS but much of it will be frittered away unless and until they also plug the yawning funding gap in social care. The Government is expected to publish proposals about the future of social care by Christmas, but however good or bad their ideas turn out to be they won't make any practical difference to older people for several years to come. That's why, for the sake of our older population, the Chancellor must announce a major three year funding deal to keep social care going as part of his Autumn Budget. "