Care Provider Launches Poster Care Campaign
Care Providers are being urged to support a campaign to get greater action over social care reform in the General Election.
The Independent Care Group (ICG) has produced posters and badges to go alongside its manifesto for change.
Now it is urging all care providers to display the election material and to press election candidates on how they plan to improve social care.
The provider group’s Chair, Mike Padgham said: “We are reaching a critical time in the run-up to the General Election and all the major parties are desperately seeking our votes.
“We have seen, in the broadest terms, what those parties propose for social care and, whilst there are some ideas coming out, none has really set the world alight with a bold plan.
“We need to step up our campaign to make this a General Election for social care and to get the message across that after 30 years of neglect, social care deserves proper, bold, root and branch reform this time round.
“We would love to see all social care providers, here in York and North Yorkshire but also across the country, spreading the message to politicians and the public that we need to ensure care is tackled after the election and is there when people need it.
“Display the posters and press the candidates on exactly how a vote for them could be a vote for social care.”
So far, Labour has promised to introduce fair pay for the workforce, a cap on care costs and, eventually a National Care Service; the Conservatives promised the cap on care costs and better funding for local authorities; the Liberal Democrats have pledged £2 above minimum wage for carers, a Royal College of Care workers and better support for unpaid carers whilst the Greens promised an extra £20bn for social care and Reform promised more funding, but only after a Royal Commission.
In its manifesto, the ICG calls for the creation of a National Care Service, bringing NHS healthcare and social care under one roof, allied to greater investment in the sector and better recognition and reward for the workforce. It wants to see care provided for the 1.6m people who currently can’t access it and dementia treated like other serious conditions like heart disease and cancer with its treatment funded through the NHS.
The ICG says the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and staff shortages followed years of neglect and under-funding by politicians from all parties and combined to leave the sector in deep crisis.
The ICG says 80% of the population will need care in their lifetime but the sector isn’t ready to meet future demand. 1.6m people currently can’t get care and the sector is short of 152,000 staff. With rising demand it will need an extra 440,000 staff by 2035.
Read the ICG manifesto here: https://www.independentcaregroup.co.uk/manifesto
