Health care leaders have warned of a ‘health emergency’ this winter if the Government fails to properly fund the social care system.
The NHS Confederation has called for the reinstating of the so-called ‘Discharge to Assess’ funding that created more capacity in social care and freed up hospital beds during the pandemic.
The absence of this dedicated central funding has contributed to bottlenecks in the numbers of patients stuck in hospital, the confederation warned.
The NHS body also called for more investment in social care pay to boost recruitment and retention.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘NHS leaders agree that extra investment in social care, particularly in social care pay to boost recruitment and retention in a system that has at least 165,000 vacancies, would be one of the best and most effective actions that the government could take to reduce pressure in the health service. But this must not come at the expense of NHS funding which is already experiencing a real-terms cut this year of at least £4bn.
‘This needs to be accompanied by the reinstatement of central “discharge to assess” funding. NHS leaders warned the government at the time that withdrawing this crucial funding would mean more people waiting longer in hospital than needed, which in turn would hamper efforts to reduce waiting times and also lead to higher ambulance handover delays.
‘Failure to address the lack of capacity in social care is a big reason why we have seen ambulances queued up outside hospitals all summer. The government must grip this problem and invest in extra social care capacity. We have days and weeks to get this right or risk a health emergency this winter.’
Responding to the NHS Confederation’s call, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘Urgent support is needed for social care ahead of what is likely to be a very difficult winter.
‘Comprehensive funding of adult social care will not only alleviate pressure on the NHS, but will mean thousands of people are able to live an equal life. Adequate funding of social care, including community care and fall prevention work will also means people are less likely to end up in hospital at all.
‘The chronic underfunding of social care over the last decade has led to a high number of vacancies within the sector and huge unmet and under-met need, the sector needs immediate support to deliver care for to those who need it.’
