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| 'Free personal care' for elderly | 'Free personal care' for elderly |
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| Free personal care will be introduced so the frailest can be cared for in their own homes, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged. | Free personal care will be introduced so the frailest can be cared for in their own homes, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged. |
| Under what is being dubbed the National Care Service, those with "the highest needs" will be offered home care regardless of personal wealth. | Under what is being dubbed the National Care Service, those with "the highest needs" will be offered home care regardless of personal wealth. |
| Currently anyone with savings over £23,500 receives no state assistance. | Currently anyone with savings over £23,500 receives no state assistance. |
| Addressing the Labour party, Mr Brown also promised results within one week for those with suspected cancer. | Addressing the Labour party, Mr Brown also promised results within one week for those with suspected cancer. |
| This enhances a pledge unveiled at the weekend in which those with less clear cut cases of suspected cancer would receive diagnostic tests within two weeks of seeing their GP. | This enhances a pledge unveiled at the weekend in which those with less clear cut cases of suspected cancer would receive diagnostic tests within two weeks of seeing their GP. |
| Mr Brown said in some cases people would receive testing and results on the same day. | Mr Brown said in some cases people would receive testing and results on the same day. |
| Staying at home | Staying at home |
| He also elaborated on manifesto plans to overhaul the current system of social care for the elderly, which is viewed by many as unfair and unsustainable. | He also elaborated on manifesto plans to overhaul the current system of social care for the elderly, which is viewed by many as unfair and unsustainable. |
| In addition to a "postcode lottery" as to who qualifies for care, the system is seen as punishing those on modest incomes who have saved for their old age. | |
| The National Care Service will bring together the NHS and local authorities which currently provide social services, Mr Brown said. | |
| "Today more and more people see their parents and grandparents suffering from conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia, and they see their dignity diminish. | |
| The people who face the greatest burden are too often those on middle incomes who have savings which will last a year or two but then they will see their savings slip away Gordon Brown | |
| "And for too many families the challenge of coping with the heartbreak is made worse by the costs of getting support. | |
| "The people who face the greatest burden are too often those on middle incomes who have savings which will last a year or two but then they will see their savings slip away. | |
| "The best starting point for our National Care Service is therefore to help the elderly to get the amenities to do what they want most to do: to receive care and to stay in their own homes as long as possible | |
| "So I can say today that for those with the highest needs we will now offer in their own homes free personal care." | "So I can say today that for those with the highest needs we will now offer in their own homes free personal care." |
| It is unclear when the scheme might be introduced and who would qualify as having "highest needs". | |
| However, it may mirror the system introduced under a devolved government in Scotland: while there is free social care here, the threshold is set relatively high to include only those with the most severe needs. |