If people were supported by care at an earlier stage – rather than waiting til they’re in crisis, as at present – the Local Government Association also estimates that every £1bn invested could generate more than £7bn of benefits, including £1.9bn of financial savings.
So why is the British government waiting? If Biden can act so soon into his tenure, why can’t we match this ambition with a plan to tackle the care crisis here in the UK?
Who picks up the pieces?
Without more funding, of course, it is predominantly women who end up picking up the pieces by providing unpaid care. Even before the pandemic, there were 9.1 million people providing unpaid care to loved ones, according to Carers UK – a figure that rose further over the past 15 months. Almost 60% of these unpaid carers are women.
And the number of people whose care needs simply aren’t met also continues to rise. A decade of cuts to local authorities – responsible for providing social care – means most councils now restrict publicly funded care to those with the very highest needs, and exclude those with any significant assets, often including the family home. So currently, homeowners may end up paying huge sums of money for their care, while others must rely on family members supporting them – or simply go without. In 2019, Age UK estimated there to be more than 1.5 million people over the age of 65 living with unmet care needs.
We need care before a crisis
It’s about to get a whole load worse. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services warned last week that local authorities were facing a “deluge” of requests for adult social care from people who are in crisis. The pandemic has meant people’s health has declined while they wait to access healthcare. Many have been discharged from hospital without adequate support elsewhere. And there has been an increase in demand for support for people with mental illness, victims of domestic violence and rough sleepers. Combined with “an ongoing lack of resources”, this means “people needing support face longer waits for less care”.
As well as immediate funding to plug the gap, social care needs a long-term plan for reform, which doesn’t just increase funding in line with demand for acute care, but also – crucially – aims to prevent avoidable care needs.
Many of those currently in crisis and seeking care could have been supported at an earlier stage. The increased demand that we are currently facing is partly a consequence of leaving things until they get to acute levels.
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