Joe Pidgeon: More desirable social care may mean an even better NHS
Joe Pidgeon looks into precisely why increasing social care is essential for the NHS.
All of us will likely have family and friends who may be going to require assistance with their personal care; assistance with putting on clothing, washing or staying safeguarded in the evening. These are generally required support for weak elderly people if they're to maintain self-respect in their freedom.
In a earlier time community nurses might have used a great deal of their time conducting these duties. Not these days, because only roughly 15% of the needs and care of seniors can be referred to as 'medical'. Providers for 'personal care' originate from either adult social services, from family carers, possibly a mix of both of them.
These two resources of help are currently still under significant tension. The Chancellor proclaimed within the Autumn Spending Review that "the health service is unable to operate correctly without very good social care". The one relies upon another.
Nonetheless, perversely, the NHS expense plan remains safe, whereas adult social care - not ring-fenced from the Federal government - has faced local authority funds cuts. Consequently between 2010-2015 NHS spending has accelerated by 19.3%, whilst social care spending has become slashed by 10.7%.
This financing mismatch, and resulting weeknesses in local community health care preparing, is taking its toll. All over England 25% fewer persons are now receiving these social care services, as their demands are not yet assessed as "critical or substantial".
The results for the NHS are multiplied hospital admissions, and also challenges in safe patient release.
On the other hand, cash-strapped local authorities are having to force payments to services of residential and home care. The pay of health care staff members remains far lesser than the skills of the job is deserving of.
The result is substantial staff turn over in residential as well as home care, as staff members travel to higher paid and significantly less demanding work similar to work in supermarkets.
Because of this severe downward burden on social care budgets, staff probably are not completely supported and the quality of care is afflicted. Nationwide, over the last year, the Care Quality Commission found 41% of adult social care supply, either in individuals homes or in residential care, to be inadequate or demanding improvement.
The Chancellor's acknowledgement of the inter-dependency of health and social care guides him to propose that councils fill up the space by raising their council taxes by 2% to finance adult social care. This moderate boost in spending, insufficient as it might be, really should be seized upon by councils to prevent additional dangerous decline in social care.