THE Government’s plans to shake up the NHS will no doubt have huge implications for us all through the transference of provision of care from the Primary Care Trust to local doctors, or General Practice Commissioning Consortiums.

The growth of the elderly population has the most significant impact on the frontline stream of the NHS.

As the elderly wards fill up, patients are “spilling over” on to surgical, medical and gynaecology wards.

Once the elderly patient is deemed ‘medically fit’ for discharge, Social Services are fined on a daily basis for keeping the patient in hospital until suitable social care provision is found.

The elderly then become earmarked as “bed-blockers” and in many cases could transpire into a longevity of weeks or even months.

Bearing in mind the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has disbanded its wardens for sheltered accommodation and City of York Council has made redundant its home carers and offloaded its services to private providers, this must surely impact on the most vulnerable elderly groups.

These reforms will impact close to home, bearing in mind that the York population boasts a slightly higher elderly population than average.

Julie Burton, Barmby Road, Pocklington.