Responding to the announcement by the Health and Social Care
Secretary, , that £240 million is to be
made available to social care teams to help tackle winter
pressures, Glen Garrod, President of the Association of Directors
of Adult Social Services, said:
“This funding is welcome. It recognises that adult social care
has a significant role to play in supporting the NHS during the
Winter – most notably hospitals. As a sector, adult care has made
great progress in reducing unnecessary delays, discharging people
safely from hospital and it’s positive that this is acknowledged
by the Government.
“However, we must also look to what is happening in the community
if we are to achieve more. This will help relieve pressure on
A&E Departments, as we reduce the numbers of people going to
hospital because of gaps in community support.
“This funding can only be a temporary and partial 'fix' - we need
to go much further, much faster, if we are to truly support
people in the community. This can only be achieved with greater
co-ordination between health, social care and housing services
and through a long-term settlement for adult social care.
“Ensuring social care is sustainably funded is important for all
of us – whether it’s our grandparents who need support to live in
their communities or specialist care for adults with learning
disabilities, it’s crucial as a society we offer personalised
care, which takes the individual being supported as it’s starting
point. We look forward to seeing more in the upcoming green paper
about how a long-term funding settlement will do this.”
