Help the Aged is calling on Essex MPs to demand action from the Government on long term care.

In the past 12 months the charity has taken 455 calls from older people in Essex who are confused and anxious about their care and how to pay for it.

The concern expressed by the callers has been incorporated into a report sent to MPs highlighting the difficulties faced by thousands of older people needing care at home or in a residential setting.

Help the Aged is demanding action from the government and is calling on MPs to press for change.

The charity's campaign comes after a Royal Commission set out ways to solve the confusion over long term care.

The commission published its report in March but the government has not yet responded, says Help the Aged.

The charity supports the main recommendations in the Royal Commission's report, which calls for the establishment of a National Care Commission to improve standards of care, more money to pay for the cost of care which would be paid by the working population and personal care to be free in the same way that health care is free.

Older people and their families who need advice on long term care issues can ring SeniorLine, Help the Aged's free advice line on 0808 800 6565 from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.

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