Funding cuts to the care sector put older people’s health at risk

The health and well-being of older people and those living with disabilities are at an increased risk if Government funding is cut further, local authorities and care providers warn.

In a joint submission to the Treasury ahead of the Government’s spending review in November 2015, organisations have called for funding to councils to be protected.

Vicky McDermott, chair of the Care and Support Alliance (CSA), said: “The CSA has long been concerned about the crisis facing the social care system and the impact this is having on disabled and older people, as well as carers and family members.

“Chronic underfunding of social care has seen dramatic year-on-year rationing of support for older and disabled people and their carers, excluding hundreds of thousands of people from the support they desperately need.

“The Government must take leadership on this issue and use the spending review in November to address the crisis in care. If something is not done now, the crisis around social care and unmet need is just going to get worse.

“Investment in care is not only the right thing to do for some of the most vulnerable in society, but also makes economic sense as it will help ease the challenges faced by the NHS and other public services.”

The Government has pledged an extra £8 billion a year for the NHS by 2020 to ensure greater joint working between the sectors to relieve some of the pressures.

‘Fear for the future’

However, the signatories of the submission, which includes leaders of councils, the NHS, care providers and charities, said they ‘fear for the future’, with some authorities freezing fees and exiting the care sector.

The submission said this has increased prices for those who fund themselves and has led to fewer people getting state-funded support.

Commenting on the spending review, Rob Webster, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Funding for health and social care is no longer keeping pace with public demand and it’s vital that this doesn’t put patients at risk. These services desperately need a sustainable, long-term financial settlement to avoid a real crisis and to help them plan and invest as wisely as possible.

“Eighty-seven per cent of NHS leaders told us they want a five-year financial commitment from the Government on health and social care and ninety-two per cent said funding cuts in social care were also having a negative knock-on effect on their own organisations and their services for patients.

“All these services are interconnected and all need greater financial certainty to build the new models of care outlined in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View."

The Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that 1.3 million older and disabled people received state-funded support last year, which was down by 500,000 in four years.

Furthermore, with the number of people living with multiple long-term conditions set to increase by more than 50 per cent from 2008-2018, councils would need an extra £700 million a year to maintain access to services at current levels.

The LGA predicts that if extra money is not invested there will be a shortfall of over £4 billion in care services by 2020, before the implications of the National Living Wage are taken into account.

“Worsening funding gap”

With these statistics in mind, Frank Ursell, a representative for the Care Providers Alliance, added: “The unprecedented scale and severity of the financial challenges facing the whole of the social care sector are such that we, the providers of services, have joined with the local authorities that commission those services to call on the Government for urgent help.

“This means both protecting social care funding from any further budget cuts at a national level, and taking steps to bridge the significant and fast-worsening funding gap that will hit the entire sector over the next five years unless corrective action is taken now.”

He continued: “Collectively, we deliver essential care to some of the most vulnerable people in society. To meet the growing needs of an ageing population, to achieve and maintain the necessary quality standards, to recruit and retain nurses and other care staff, and to create a sustainable financial model of care for the future, the Government must act quickly and decisively.

“Doing nothing is simply not an option if this country is to honour its obligations to older people and adults of all ages with mental health problems and disabilities.”

In addition, Clare Pelham, chief executive of Leonard Cheshire Disability, commented: “Our TV screens aren’t dominated by coverage of the daily struggle of disabled and older people. But that mustn’t mean that we forget how important they are. They deserve kind and compassionate care.

“The time has come to put the person receiving support first and foremost, not budgets and not complicated funding rows. The old answers aren't working. It’s time for some fresh approaches by the Chancellor in the spending review, with thinking as bold and as brave as the National Living Wage he announced in the Budget and which we welcomed. We are confident the Chancellor will do this.”