Johnson told to ‘honour promise on social care’

A number of health leaders have called on the Prime Minister to honour his pledge to fix social care ‘once and for all’ and to set out a timetable for reform which addresses both the immediate crisis and the need to put these services on a sustainable footing.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, the Health for Care coalition says that the NHS will not have any hope of clearing the backlog of routine operations unless there is a comprehensive and funded plan to support social care services through the winter months.  

The Health for Care coalition, which is chaired by the NHS Confederation, is warning that patients will end up stranded in hospital because arrangements are not in place in the community or in care homes to support them. Also, they fear more patients will end up in emergency departments because they have not been able to access the personal care they need to keep them safe and independent in their own homes.  

The warning comes as the NHS has been set very stretching targets for resuming services which had to be paused during the first stage of the coronavirus pandemic. Health service leaders were already concerned that the targets looked unrealistic, given workforce vacancies, exhausted and burnt out staff and the fact that many services are having to operate at reduced capacity because of the need for social distancing and infection control.  

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Covid-19 has highlighted the critical role that social care plays in supporting the NHS, but it has also exposed a fractured, understaffed and underfunded system in desperate need of reform. Social care services urgently need immediate funding to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic and to prepare for the possibility of further localised outbreaks, as well as a long-term plan, which successive governments have failed to deliver. Without this, the NHS will be fighting with one hand tied behinds its back. The Prime Minister has promised to ‘fix social care’, we now need that promise fulfilled.”  

The NHS Confederation has also set out what will be needed to make sure social care can support the health service effectively. In a new report the organisation has called for: immediate additional funding for social care to help it deal with the aftermath of coronavirus and prepare for winter; a long-term funding settlement that secures the future of the sector; a long-term plan for social care including help to develop a better trained workforce to deliver care; and a decisive shift to person-focused outcomes-based commissioning.

Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the incredibly valuable role of social care in its own right and why it is more important than ever before that we find a long-term and sustainable funding solution, so that people of all ages can live the life they want to lead.

“Social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS. Every pound invested in council-run services, including social care, helps to relieve pressure on the health service which as this report states is facing a huge backlog of operations.

“We have established our own set of principles, with support from a number of prominent organisations across the health and care sector, to help inform and underpin the government’s thinking on the future of adult social care in this country. The government and other parties need to begin cross-party talks on the future of adult social care, as soon as possible.”