Health secretary unveils £240m cash injection for social care

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has promised an emergency £240 million will be injected into the social care system, to ease the winter burden on the NHS.

In his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Mr Hancock announced the emergency funding will be given to councils to spend on measures such as care packages and home adaptations.

'Free up those vital hospital beds'

“I can announce that today I am making an extra £240 million available to pay for social care packages this winter to support our NHS”, he said.

The cash boost is intended to free up hospital beds this winter, by giving elderly people and others needing care the chance to recuperate in their own homes.

The money could pay for either 71,500 home care packages, 86,500 reablement packages to support workers to assist people to carry out everyday tasks and regain mobility or 27,000 home adaptations including new facilities for personal care, such as adapting a shower room.

"We will use this money to get people who don't need to be in hospital, but do need care, back home, back into their communities, so we can free up those vital hospital beds. And help people who really need it get the hospital care they need."

Mr Hancock's announcement is set within local authorities’ planned savings for adult social care in 2018/19 alone estimated to be around £700 million. Cumulative adult social care savings since 2010 total £7 billion.

Cllr David Williams, leader of Hertfordshire County Council and County Councils Network (CCN) spokesman said: “Today’s announcement of desperately-needed resource for social care ahead of the busy winter period is very welcome.

“County local authorities have had to save over £700m this year from their budgets – largely due to social care pressures. We welcome the government’s recognition of the CCN’s calls for additional resources and this will help councils continue their impressive record in working innovatively to reduce delayed discharges from hospitals and ensure that patients do not stay in hospital longer than they need to.

“However, this one-off, in-year funding cannot underpin ongoing resourcing and workforce strategies and perpetuates a trend of short-termism we have seen from successive governments when it comes to adult social care.”

Currently 36 county authorities in the CCN membership are facing a funding black hole of £1.4bn next year.

Cllr Williams said a “further injection of funding" for all services will be required for the next financial year in excess of what councils will receive from today’s announcement. "How we fund social care, as well as how we protect individuals from huge care costs, must be outlined in the forthcoming social care green paper.”

Social care is 'not just for Christmas'

Sally Copley, director of policy, campaigns and partnerships at Alzheimer's Society, said: “While it’s important that the Government has recognised that social care underfunding lies at the heart of our hospitals' winter pressures, the amount committed is a let down - less than 10 per cent of what’s needed to fix the social care crisis.

“The social care system is ‘not just for Christmas’ and people with dementia, as its biggest recipients, are experiencing the emotional and economic cost all year round. This money may stop some people with dementia spending Christmas stuck on a ward, but the limited and poor quality care available at home will mean they’re back in hospital before Easter.

“To actually turn the tide for people with dementia we need to see £2.5bn ringfenced in the upcoming budget - this will plug the current funding gap."