Enough Is Enough On Social Care Time To Act, After Damning CQC Report
THE Government must act on a growing shortage of care for older, vulnerable and disabled adults after a report warned of a ‘precarious’ situation in social care.
Campaigners say the Government must address a shortage of funding in the sector which has robbed providers of the staff they need to provide care.
And the social care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG) said urgent measures were needed to prevent a serious increase on the 2m people who currently can’t get care.
It says social care has gone beyond the point of no return.
The warning comes after the sector’s inspection body, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) released a damning report on care in this country.
It spoke of a “precarious” situation in adult social care with the number of people not getting care jumping by a quarter over the past five years.
And its State of Care report revealed that half of those well enough to be discharged from hospital could not leave because there were no care home beds or homecare packages available.
It warns that the staff vacancy rate is three times the national average and that care workers “despite the crucial job they do, remain among the lowest paid members of society”.
ICG Chair Mike Padgham said:
“We are past the point of no return for social care. Unless we get action on funding soon, the system will grind to a halt, that figure of 2m people who can’t get care will rocket and the number stuck in hospital beds through a lack of social care will go through the roof.”
The ICG has sent an open letter to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves urging her to support social care when she presents her Autumn Statement next week.
In the letter to the Chancellor, Mr Padgham said the Government needs to increase the funding it gives to commissioners like local authorities to buy care from providers. That would inject more money into the social care sector and enable providers to recruit, tackling the current 131,000 shortfall in staff.
Mr Padgham warned the Chancellor that an increase in National Insurance would hit social care providers and be at odds with the Government’s desire to see more people looked after in the community. He also argues that the Government must support social care if it is to succeed in its proposals to reform and improve the NHS, as it is impossible to reform one without supporting the other.
