CQC Report Proves “Era Of Organisations Doing Their Own Thing” Must End

Responding to the CQC’s report Beyond Barriers about older people moving between health and social care in England, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:

“This is a wake-up call for the NHS, for social care and for the government – it shows that the era of organisations just doing their own thing must end now.

“The good news is that local leaders have begun to take this on board and more services are coming together to provide joined up care. But everyone knows we need to go further and faster. There is now real commitment to get this right and to change the way services operate.

“But there is also a clear message for government – social care is in a parlous state, with a fragile market and disgraceful levels of unmet need. These are not only racking up unnecessary costs in the NHS, they are causing real suffering for thousands of older and vulnerable people.

“The chancellor says the cupboard is bare – but he must show the same commitment for social care as he did for health. This requires urgent political commitment and action. Further delay is unacceptable.

“There is public support for more investment – our Ipsos Mori polling shows that 82% of people support or strongly support a 3.9% spending increase for social care, the minimum required.

“The report we commissioned from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Health Foundation provided strong objective evidence that this level of funding will be needed if we are to support and care for an ageing population and a growing number of working age adults with disabilities.”