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Thousands of older people died without getting the care they needed, a charity said, calling the figures "heartbreaking". Age UK said it was "deeply concerned" about the plight of older people whose needs are not being met and urged the chancellor to devote more resources to social care. The charity pointed to figures from NHS Digital for England showing that 28,890 help requests from people aged 65 and over in 2021/22 were recorded as having died without a service provided.
It is heartbreaking that, according to the latest figures, more than five hundred elderly people visit their graves every week without ever receiving the attention and support to which they were entitled.
Although the figures relate to support requests rather than individual people, the charity said it was unlikely that many people would have received multiple registered requests when they passed away.
Therefore, they said the figures equate to more than 550 deaths per week, or 79 per day.
The charity's director, Caroline Abrahams, said: "There is not enough social care to go around and some older people are constantly waiting for much-needed help."
“It is heartbreaking that, according to the latest figures, more than 500 older people a week visit their graves without ever receiving the care and support to which they were entitled.
“The pandemic cannot be blamed for this alarming situation either, because while it certainly didn't help, welfare services struggled to get enough staff and funds in the years that followed.
"Since then, all indications are that the situation has not improved and, by most measures, has continued to deteriorate."
Ms Abrahams said long waits for social care are causing "tremendous distress for older people" and putting "intolerable pressure on their families".
He added: “At Age UK, we are deeply concerned about the plight of all older people with an unmet need for care, living alone, without family or friends. We fear that many tragedies unfold in silence behind closed doors. »
The charity wrote to Jeremy Hunt, asking him to use his role as chancellor to address an issue he had raised as chairman of the health and social care committee.
The letter says that millions of elderly people in England waiting for care "find it difficult to go to the toilet, eat, dress or wash because they cannot do these things without help".
He continues: “When you were Chairman of the Committee on Health and Welfare, you expressed your deep regret that you were unable to resolve the problems that Welfare faced during your tenure as Secretary of State.
"Now, as chancellor, the spring budget is your opportunity to help the millions of often overlooked and feeling neglected seniors who expect reliable, quality care and support to live in dignity."
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Everyone should have access to good quality social care when they need it, and our hearts go out to anyone who has lost elderly parents and loved ones."
“We are providing up to £7.5bn of available funding over the next two years to support adult social care. This will put the adult welfare system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities deal with waiting lists, low fees and job pressures in the sector.
“We are also tackling pressures on the workforce by promoting careers in adult social care through our annual national recruitment campaign and by investing £15m to increase the international recruitment of social workers.”
PA wire
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