Social care needs more than another sticking plaster, says NHS Confederation in response to the Budget

Responding to today’s Budget announcement, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:

“This should have been a budget for the NHS to celebrate extra money after a decade of austerity, and make no mistake the confirmation of that money is welcome. But let no-one be in any doubt about the challenge ahead - rising demand, a monumental workforce crisis and an urgent need to change the way services are delivered will make the next few years very tough indeed.

“And social care remains the Achilles heel – it has been consistently underfunded, neglected and unloved by politicians over many years and the extra funding announced today – again welcome –  is clearly inadequate.What we needed was support to get the system back on its feet but what we have is yet another sticking plaster. 

"This means we will struggle on for another year. We hope that the social care green paper is not further delayed: this has huge implications for both health and social care and most importantly for the people who need these crucial services."