Labour’s Social Care Proposals A “Welcome Contribution” Says NHS Confederation
 Labour would provide home help to 160,000 more older people to support them with tasks like dressing, bathing and preparing meals under new plans for overhauling social care, the party has announced.
Ahead of the local elections, Labour said it would increase the number of home care packages available, with at least 50,000 going to those with dementia. Responding to the announcement on social care, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said: “Labour’s proposals are a welcome contribution to the debate this country must have about how we solve the crisis in social care. Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people are being deprived of the care and support they need, and services in some parts of the country are on the verge of collapse. That should be a cause of shame. “The reality is the social care sector has been ignored by successive governments over decades who have given us promises but failed to fix fundamental problems. And now we have been waiting two years for the current administration’s promise of reform. These continued delays are harming people in need of care, as well as staff who are under huge pressure. “The impact of this is also being felt in the NHS. We have big ambitions to deliver more joined up services, closer to where people live. But this vision will not be achieved without an effective social care system in place. That is why we have convened a coalition of health organisations – Health for Care – which is calling on the Government to create a sustainable social care system that will last for generations. “The long promised Green Paper and autumn Spending Review present an essential opportunity to invest in social care over the longer term, as the Government is now investing in the NHS.” |
