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Stop cuts to adult social care, petition urges
Posted on 20/08/2019 by billy fagg
Stop cuts to adult social care, petition urges
More than 150,000 people have signed a petition calling for urgent action to fix the system that provides care for older and disabled people.
It urges the prime minister "to end swingeing cuts", saying more than 1.4 million over-65s in England have been left without the support they need.
Also, 40 health leaders have written to Boris Johnson to warn adult social care cuts have a knock-on effect on the NHS.
Government says real-terms funding is rising by 8% from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Last month, on his first day as prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "I am announcing now - on the steps of Downing Street - that we will fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve."
But the letter calls for:
- a plan with cross-party involvement
- a long-term financial settlement
- short-term money to shore up services this year
- support for a wider range of people
One of the signatories, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Siobhan Melia says vulnerable people are facing unacceptable delays in accessing the care that they need "due to a dearth of provision of social care packages.
"This means that NHS teams are caring for people longer than they need to, placing increased demand on community and hospital services."
Day-to-day tasks
Adult social care is the support provided for older and disabled people in their own homes or in residential and nursing homes.
Care workers help people with day-to-day tasks such as washing, dressing, eating and taking medication and this regular contact reduces loneliness, helps spot problems early and keeps people out of hospital.
With more people living longer and with more complex conditions, demand for social care is increasing.
At the same time, local authorities have seen the money they receive from central government drop significantly in the past decade.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England, puts this year's funding shortfall at £2.5bn.
The letter and petition have been organised by the NHS Confederation, which leads the Health for Care Alliance of 15 national health organisations.
"This is a crisis and it has to be urgently addressed," says NHS Confederation chief executive Niall Dickson.
"As our petition shows, the public recognise the human cost of inaction and they want this resolved.
"Successive governments have failed to address this issue - the new government has a chance to put this right."
A Department of Health and Social Care official said: "The prime minister has been clear he is committed to fixing the social care system and will outline proposals as soon as possible.
"We have given local authorities access to nearly £4bn more dedicated funding for adult social care this year and a further £410m is available for adults and children's services."
Source: BBC News