Last updated 11:47, Wednesday, 30 July 2008

Bill Alexander’s distressing circumstances are unlikely to be unique. Stuck in hospital with no care in place to allow him to go home, the 77-year-old languishes in an upsetting state of limbo.

It has been two weeks since he was given the all clear for discharge from Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary. But having fallen into a trap of care assessment shortfall, he has nowhere to go. Neither did he have anyone to speak up for him until he called on the News & Star for help.

Not all elderly people are able to articulate their troubles so clearly. Not all can identify and understand problems not of their making. It’s natural to wonder how many others are falling foul of a culture that has traditionally separated health and social services from each other.

The Closer to Home plan aims to bridge that cultural gap by pooling resources and joining up thinking on care requirements – which rarely end with completion of hospital treatment.

The elderly have long been first to feel the brunt of care service resource, system or staffing difficulties. Perhaps, looking forward, there’s hope of turnaround in that worrying situation.

Bill just wants to go home to safety, dignity and independence. The least we should work towards is making that possible for all older people, who deserve nothing less.