Chancellor must tackle social care under-funding says NHS Confederation in response to ADASS survey

Responding to the survey of Social Care Directors in England by ADASS, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:

“This report illustrates the dire position that social care in England finds itself. Sustained under-funding and the failure of successive governments to reform the way it is paid for, has created a grossly inefficient system which results in unnecessary suffering and increases pressure on other services.

“It is a disgrace that thousands of vulnerable people are without the care and support they need.

“The fact that many Directors of Adult Social Services have no or limited confidence in their ability to meet their statutory duties should worry us all.

“The report also shows that we need to focus on the whole system, not just one part of it.  The recent focus on patients stuck in hospital when they could be discharged is fine, but it benefits no one if the result is more older people being sent to care homes rather than their own home.

“Too often short-term care home placements become long-term which is not good for the individual and a waste of scarce resources.

“The Chancellor has a chance in the Budget to begin to put this right – he needs to tackle the under-funding and there must be no further delay in publishing the Green Paper on social care reform.”