Helping Hands Homecare Survey Shows Brits Plan Funeral Before Care

    WARWICKSHIRE, ENGLAND, December 01, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A national survey has revealed that 48 per cent of UK adults have discussed wishes in the event of their death with family and friends, whereas just 27 per cent have tackled the topic of how they would like to be cared for when they can no longer care for themselves.

The survey was conducted by home care specialists Helping Hands to highlight a lack of care planning amongst an ageing UK population.

31 per cent of those questioned trusted their relatives to make the right decision for them whilst 33 per cent stated that their elder years were too far away to think about the care that they might need.

However, 29 per cent admitted to burying their head in the sand by not wanting to think about it and 21 per cent believed there was no need to discuss care when they weren't currently ill.

Lindsey Edgehill, Care Services Manager for Helping Hands, said: "It's well documented that we are an ageing population. The number of over 65s has increased by 1.7 million since 1984 and people over the age of 85 are the fastest growing age group in the UK. The financial and social implication of the resulting care requirement is huge.

"No-one wants to think about a time when they may need help in their everyday lives but if people consider the care they want to receive, who will be involved in that care and how it will be financed ahead of time, the burden is lifted from the rest of the family.

"Guilt is a major factor within the care issue and additional research we recently undertook identified it as the main reason for people not getting help with the care of their parents. Planning for your own care before you need it empowers family members to make decisions on your behalf that they can be happy with as well as relieving the financial pressure that is often left for loved ones to cope with."

Helping Hands provides bespoke live-in care and support for those who want to stay in their own home Visit http://www.helpinghandshomecare.co.uk for further information.

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