Silver Voices – A New Year For Campaigns
Silver Voices is a retired members newsletter.
MEMBERS’ BRIEFING 01/21
NEW YEAR CAMPAIGNS UPDATE
Happy New Year to all Silver Voices members! We all look forward to a less challenging and more enjoyable 2021 than the miserable year we have just experienced. Silver Voices will be on top of every major issue affecting the over 60s over the next 12 months.
As anticipated, the failure of Government restrictions in the run up to Christmas has led to an uncontrolled and intense wave of the pandemic, with hundreds of older lives being lost daily. For the next few months, protecting older people from the consequences of Covid-19 must be our priority focus, but we will not ignore other issues of concern to our members such as social care and TV licences.
FREE TV LICENCE CAMPAIGN
There is no let up in our campaign to restore free licences for the over 75s. Just before Christmas the media was informed that the Government had dropped its plans to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee. We exploited this angle by getting a festive article into the Daily Mirror, urging Boris Johnson to provide a ‘Christmas Present’ by restoring free licences. Santa failed to respond! https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-urged-give-christmas-23201661 .
The enforcement ‘amnesty’ agreed by the BBC whereby those over 75s who previously received free licences are not being sent red-topped enforcement notices or getting visits from enforcement officers, appears to be holding except for the odd mix-up. The amnesty has now lasted for six weeks and it is unclear what the BBC will do next. An article in the Times last week (thanks to Silver Voices member Mary for this) suggested that the BBC was “preparing to increase enforcement action” against the over 75s, but this could mean anything.
As well as keeping pressure up on the BBC through our civil disobedience campaign, we are highlighting the Government’s ultimate responsibility for this mess through our petition on the Government website, calling on the Government to take back responsibility for this benefit.
The petition has now been officially launched, so please make sure you sign it and circulate the link to all your friends and contacts. It is very important to get the petition trending on social media so please put out the link on your Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/562729
WATCH OUT FOR COMMUNITY DNR NOTICES
We covered the widespread use of DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Notices in care homes during the first wave of the pandemic. In recent articles, the Daily Mail has exposed a developing scandal in community health services, where following a “a geriatric assessment”, some older people are discovering that DNR notices are being placed on their NHS records on grounds of “frailty”.
A new breed of “frailty nurse practitioners” are conducting these assessments of older people living in their own homes. According to the Mail, the Care Quality Commission is urgently investigating these practices, but if you know of someone who has had such a geriatric assessment it would be wise to suggest they inspect their NHS record.
At a time when rationing of health care during the pandemic is such a sensitive issue for older people, any increased use of DNR notices, particularly without consultation, is abhorrent.
Many thanks to Silver Voices member Heather for providing this intelligence. The Daily Mail articles can be accessed below.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9052831/How-dare-NHS-throw-scrapheap.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8995229/Elderly-patients-given-Not-Resuscitate-orders-against-families-wishes.html
4 January 2021