COVID-19 Taskforce Report – An Opportunity To Build Resilience

As the country braces itself for what is anticipated to be a second wave of COVID-19, social care providers throughout the country are deeply aware of the challenges ahead and the pressures that winter will bring on care services.

The launch of the Adult Social Care Winter Plan and COVID-19 Taskforce Report has been welcomed by leaders from across the sector, including the Care Provider Alliance (CPA) – the collective national voice of adult social care providers in England.

Kathy Roberts, Chair of the CPA says, “We welcome the Covid-19 Social Care Taskforce Report and the comprehensive recommendations from the advisory groups, which focused on areas such as mental health and wellbeing, learning disabilities and autism, BAME communities, and the workforce. As the CPA, we have played an instrumental role in contributing to the Taskforce and helping to shape the recommendations and are delighted that our input has been acknowledged and included in the Report.

“We have worked closely with the government, in good faith that these recommendations will be carried out in a timely way to make sure that social care providers are supported to manage many of the challenges they will face in the coming months. Now that the Report is published, there is a real need for clarification of the next steps, and how the recommendations in the Report will be prioritised, funded, and implemented.

“As an Alliance of the main trade associations working across the adult social care sector, we look forward to the opportunity to continue our work with the government and other strategic partners, and play our part in the implementation of the Report. Now more than ever we would like to see a greater focus on people of all ages receiving care and support, particularly for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and autism, their families and carers, and for people in all care settings including in their own homes and in the community.

“The social care workforce has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to provide care and support to those most in need in our society, in what has been challenging circumstances. It is essential that adequate measures and resources are put in place to safeguard and protect the mental and physical health and wellbeing of the workforce, so that we can support our colleagues in social care deliver services safely.”