Councils warn NHS winter crisis should prompt government to fully fund social care

This year’s NHS winter crisis should push government to fully fund our social care system, council leaders have said.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said there cannot be a sustainable NHS without a sustainable social care system.

It argues urgent new funding is needed to address the annual social care funding gap, which will reach £2.3 billion by 2020, and avoid an all-year round NHS crisis.

The LGA said urgent action is needed to close the social care funding gap and help alleviate the pressure on hospitals. Action is also needed to avoid people being admitted to hospital in the first place. This will free up hospital beds and reduce pressures on the NHS.

The LGA is urging the government to use the final Local Government Finance Settlement to find new money for social care.

Lord Porter, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Councils have long warned about the impact of an underfunded social care system on the NHS.

“No-one wants their loved ones stuck in hospital when they don’t need to be there or see operations and procedures cancelled.

“Councils want to help and are working hard to get people out of hospital and back into the community, close to their loved ones, this winter.

“Extra funding for social care can empower councils to prioritise prevention work which is key to reducing the pressures on the health service and keeping people out of hospital in the first place. This will help alleviate the chances of winter crises happening in the future.

“The announcement of a green paper next summer shows government recognises the need for long-term reform of social care, but immediate extra funding is needed now to address the immediate pressures older people and people with disabilities are facing.

“Working together with the NHS and other sector partners, we need to do all we can to help people with adult social care.

“The final Local Government Finance Settlement due in the next month is an opportunity to provide genuinely new money to address the £2.3 billion social care funding gap to make sure people get the care and support they need in the right place and at the right time.

“Immediate extra funding will help avoid a situation where people spend longer in hospital, rather than in their own home and communities – or having their operations cancelled more regularly - as NHS pressures increase and councils are left increasingly powerless to help.”