The President of Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Melanie Williams, said: “ This report shows an unsustainable and worrying picture for the 4 out of 5 of us needing adult social care in the future and sends a clear message that we can’t keep doing more of the same. Instead of focussing on investment in hospitals and freeing up beds, the new Government must shift to investing in more social care, supporting unpaid carers, and providing healthcare in our local community to prevent people reaching crisis point and ending up in hospital in the first place. Without investment in early care and support at home or the community, spending more on the NHS is like pouring water down a sink with no plug in. This approach is also better for us all in terms of mental health, sense of independence and overall wellbeing.
The next Government must have the courage to commit to a long-term, fully funded solution for social care and shift from short-term crisis management, especially during winter, to more care at home in the long term. Care at home is better for all involved, but also makes more
financial sense.”
NCF, the leading association for not-for-profit social care has commented on the latest Association of Directors of Adult Social Services in England (ADASS ) survey which reveals local councils are under increased pressure to satisfy rising cases of complex care and support needs for people leaving hospital.
Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of NCF said “This report shows for the first time how the changing needs of people are impacting on the availability of care and support within communities. People coming forward for assessment for the first time, whether from home or hospital, have increasingly complex needs and it is crystal clear that local authority budgets have not kept pace, meaning many people are not getting the care they need, when and where they need it.”
“The concerns being reported by DASSs that an increasing number of people whose care and support should be covered under Continuing Health Care are now requiring local authority funding or being forced to fund their own care, is alarming and must be addressed. The patchy and inconsistent nature of CHC is creating a postcode lottery, putting unnecessary pressure on individuals, carers and the system as a whole. This research shows that there is clearly a significant gap between the increasingly complex care and support people want in the community and what is actually available – this can’t go on. ”
“It is well understood that effective care provided at the right time can prevent people requiring further emergency care and hospital admission. Many of the challenges we are now seeing have their roots in the inaction of previous governments. The new government has an opportunity to tackle this urgent crisis head on and change the approach, so people are able to live their lives well. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has talked of fixing the broken NHS and we urge him and his department to seize the opportunity to ensure the pressures on social care are front and centre of these plans. We want to work together with the new government to help address the immediate priorities and look forward to bringing the combined expertise of our diverse membership to finding solutions to these challenges.”
