Disability charity calls for urgent intervention as cost-of-living crisis puts social care ‘on its knees’

The national disability charity Sense, which supports people with complex disabilities, has issued a call to the government to urgently invest in social care after a “grim” Care Quality Commission (CQC) report warned that rising costs are biting across the sector.

The charity, which runs a range of services including residential homes, is calling for a social care workforce strategy to sit alongside the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. Sense research this year found that nearly a third (31%) of people with complex disabilities who receive social care experienced staff shortages over the previous twelve months.

Richard Kramer, Chief Executive of Sense, said:

“This report makes for grim reading, but sadly echoes things that we are currently seeing in the social care sector. Social care is on its knees after years of chronic underfunding, and the cost-of-living crisis is having a huge impact – with local authority budgets not keeping up with rising costs.

“Social care doesn’t just support disabled people with their basic needs, it’s also what enables them to be a part of their communities. We’re very concerned that the challenges the sector is currently facing means disabled people are at risk of losing that right to take part in society.

“One major issue facing the sector is the lack of staff. Too many disabled people are missing out on the care they need because there aren’t enough care workers with the right skills. We desperately need a social care workforce strategy that will ensure we can keep our talented, caring workforce in social care.

“At Sense, we are committed to providing the highest quality of care available to people with complex disabilities. We are calling on the Government to partner with us in that mission by urgently investing in social care with more funding and a workforce strategy.”