Government must act as social care starts to break

The Independent Care Group has renewed its appeal for urgent government action and support as more and more care providers hit difficulties.

The group says that the government must establish an emergency task force of volunteers straight away otherwise the social care system will collapse and take NHS care with it.

The Independent Care Group says news of a homecare provider unable to deliver care on the Isle of Wight and one in York earlier this year show that the system is crumbling. Care and nursing homes are also struggling to cover shifts and some have closed.

The group has unveiled its three-point plan to prevent a ‘winter meltdown’ due to the crisis in the care of older and vulnerable people. It calls for: Parliament to be recalled urgently to tackle the crisis; a volunteer army to fill gaps left by the huge recruitment shortage in care; and a financial injection to help providers give staff better terms and conditions.

Mike Padgham, chair of the ICG, said: “We really are reaching a crisis point, but the Government continues not to listen. It has shown that it can recall Parliament to debate an emergency issue like Afghanistan  – well thousands of care providers and those they care for are wondering why they can’t tackle this issue at home, right now.

“Unless we get urgent funding action and the task force we have called for, the provider failures we are already seeing and the many others that are not making headlines will grow into a flood until we cannot properly provide care any more in this country.

“Providers are failing and there is only so much local authorities will be able to do when contracts are handed back or when care and nursing homes close. And if social care fails then NHS care will start to fail too, as the two need each other to survive.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic there were 120,000 vacancies in the care sector. Staff sickness and those isolating has been followed by a loss of staff to the sector due to plans to force all employees to have the vaccine. The Department for Health and Social Care has itself warned that up to 40,000 people could be lost from social care over the vaccination issue.