William Eichler 06 July 2023

Social care crisis threatens to ‘bury’ NHS

Social care crisis threatens to ‘bury’ NHS image
Image: I T S / Shutterstock.com.

The ‘extreme pressure’ on social care is now ‘turning into an avalanche, and it’s going to bury the NHS’, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has told the LGA annual conference.

In his speech on the last day of the conference, Sir Ed said the social care system was ‘not fit for purpose’ due to the ‘multi-billion-pound black hole in local authority budgets.’

He also said the recruitment and retention issue in adult social care, which has 165,000 vacancies in England, is also one of the main issues facing the care system.

Reiterating the Liberal Democrat’s call for a new Carers’ Minimum Wage, which would be £2 an hour above the national minimum wage, Sir Ed said social care is ‘not a job we can outsource to ChatGPT’.

The Liberal Democrat leader emphasised the link between the social care crisis and the problems faced by the NHS.

‘You can’t fix the NHS without fixing social care. And you can’t fix social care without local government.’

A new analysis published by the party has revealed that the number of hospital beds affected by delayed discharge due to a lack of social care capacity has risen by around a third in one year.

The analysis found that for the week beginning May 21 more than 128,000 hospital bed days were lost to delayed discharges, up from 97,000 in the same week last year.

‘The crisis in social care means that only two in five people are able to leave hospital when they are ready to do so,’ he said.

‘This puts even more pressure on already overstretched hospitals. It's all connected. And it's all causing so much pain and distress and that’s why we need to fix social care.’

Sign up here to receive our free daily news and jobs bulletin.

The £37,000 SEND Problem image

The £37,000 SEND Problem

Natalie Kenneison, COO at Imosphere, argues that the real SEND funding crisis isn’t just about budgets - it’s about the systems behind the decisions.
SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Makaton Tutor - Part Time / Term Time

Essex County Council
£25821.00 - £30377.00 per annum + + Pension
Makaton Tutor - Part Time / Term TimePermanent, Part Time£30,377 per annum, full time equivalent / equal to £15.74 per hour.Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Assistant Urban Design Intern

Essex County Council
Up to £25081.00 per annum + + 26 Days Leave & Local Gov Pension
Assistant Urban Design InternFixed Term, Full Time£25,081 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Wellbeing and Independence Practitioner - Safeguarding Team

Essex County Council
£31931.00 - £36423.00 per annum + + 26 Days Leave & Local Gov Pension
Wellbeing and Independence Practitioner - ASC Centralised Safeguarding TeamFixed Term, Full Time£31,931 to £36,423 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Financial Strategy Manager (Revenue)

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Negotiable
Bring clarity to complex decisions and help shape how we invest in our borough's future.Bring clarity to complex decisions and help shape how we inves England, London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Team Manager - Locality

Wakefield Council
£55,979.00, Grade 13
Wakefield Children’s Services have been rated by Ofsted as GOOD with outstanding leadership. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council
Linkedin Banner