National Care Service: Addressing Slow Progress with Profound Regret
Care experts are calling on the government to act urgently on reform of adult social care after it was revealed that long-awaited proposals may not be delivered for another three years. Ministers have announced the first step towards creating a National Care Service to ease the workload of the NHS. A new package of support for the sector includes more funding for elderly and disabled people to make home improvements and stay out of the hospital.
Baroness Louise Casey will lead the commission that will advise on reforms, while health secretary Wes Streeting announced an independent commission led by Baroness Louise Casey would begin in the spring. The first phase, reporting next year, will recommend medium-term reforms, and the second, expected by 2028, will advise on longer-term reforms.
Reform was long overdue, according to Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. She expressed that even if all went well, it would be the early 2030s before older people received any substantial benefit – 30 years after Japan and Germany modernized their social care systems. The Homecare Association, which represents employers of carers who visit people at home, said the announcements “could finally close the doom loop social care reform has been stuck in for too long.”
Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, stated that “The social care sector is on its last legs. Without urgent action, there will be nothing left to reform.” Dr. Townson criticized plans for care workers to be trained to perform health checks for patients in the home to relieve pressure on the NHS, saying it would worsen the situation because there was no money for training.
The proposals were deemed “unequivocally good news” by Ms. Abrahams, but she also added that the most sensitive issue of how to fund the social care needs of our rapidly aging population is not set to be addressed until the second phase of the commission, which is a major concern. Mr. Streeting has invited opposition parties to join the reform discussions “to ensure the National Care Service survives governments of different shades.”
Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, warned of the plans “becoming yet another report that gathers dust while the sector crumbles.” Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, representing unpaid carers, welcomed news of the reforms, adding that quick and decisive action is needed on any recommendations brought forward by the commission to improve social care.
In conclusion, the reform of the adult social care system is pressing, and immediate intervention is crucial to prevent irreversible harm to those who rely on care services. The government must act swiftly to address the funding and structural needs of the social care sector to ensure the well-being of older people and their families.
