‘Invisible’ adult social care services should be a ‘national imperative,’ peers have argued in a report published today.
The House of Lords’ Adult Social Care Committee said society’s understanding of adult social care was ‘partial and often flawed’ and the sector needed ‘realistic, predictable and long-term funding’.
Its report recommended a new plan to improve skills and tackle low pay, the creation of a care commissioner to strengthen the voice of the sector, and for the voice of social care to be ‘loud and clear’ within Integrated Care Systems (ICSs).
It called for ‘genuine equality between the NHS and local government services at every level in the new structures’.
Also giving evidence, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, Jim McManus, criticised top-down performance management by the NHS, telling MPs: ‘We learned during Covid that we can trust local areas without a top-down culture – we seem to have gone backwards on that.’
New analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy published on Monday highlighted how NHS and local government organisations had ‘such different systems and cultures’.
He said: ‘The relationship between DHSC [the Department of Health and Social Care] and the social care sector has been completely transformed by the pandemic.
‘I am confident we both have the money and the better connections with the sector to deal with future pandemics.’
This article was originally published by The MJ (£).
