Social care leaders have told the Government to stop blaming the social care sector for the NHS crisis.
A joint letter to the secretary of state for health and social care, Steve Barclay MP, said that the sector was ‘concerned’ about the manner in which social care is being portrayed in the national conversation about the NHS.
Signed by the Local Government Association (LGA), Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace), the letter said that the narrative ‘frequently presents social care as being at fault or to blame for all delays to discharge’.
‘As in previous years, local government is a willing and committed partner in helping to alleviate demand pressures facing the NHS,’ the care leaders wrote.
‘This winter, with the scale of pressures so severe, councils’ adult social care teams are working around the clock to mitigate the strain our health service is under. We fully recognise the extent of the pressure, the urgent need to address it, and the level of priority afforded to the issue by the Government.
‘However, we are concerned about the manner in which social care is being portrayed and the level of engagement with local government in national discussions about delayed discharge.’
The letter set out a number of short- and medium-term measures that need to be taken in order to help the social care sector, including focusing on prevention and recovery services and tackling the long-standing issue of care worker pay.
