The UK care crisis, explained
A new openDemocracy series examines the roots of the UK's crisis of care and how to fix it
The UK is living through a care crisis. From childcare to social care, from unpaid caregivers to paid carers working long hours for low pay, we simply do not have the infrastructure in place to make sure we and our loved ones are treated with dignity and autonomy.
What little care is available, is unaffordable for most.
This is a global and systemic crisis of willful neglect – and requires more than just a short term fix. What we need are caring systems, not just caring people. In short: we need a new economic system that values care at its heart.
But we can fix this. 75 years after the NHS was founded, we have an opportunity to think again about how we got here and what to do next.
Our new video series – featuring our very own Carla Abreu alongside Dalia Gebrial, Sarah Jaffe, Asad Rehman and Helen Hester – explains how we arrived at this moment of crisis, and begins to reimagine the future of care.
And we've released numerous articles examining solutions to the care crisis. To start off, read our piece by Nadia Whittome MP on the need for a National Care Service like the NHS and our feature by Emily Kenway on why we need to rebalance our relationship to work, the planet and each other.
Solutions to the care crisis
-
Published in:ourEconomy: Analysis👍How the design of our cities is making the care crisis worseAn obsession with security – and with cars – has destroyed the communal spaces key to building strong networks
-
Published in:ourEconomy: Opinion👍We need a National Care Service like the NHS to fix our social care crisisSeventy-five years after the founding of the NHS, we need an equally bold solution to fix our broken social care system
-
Published in:ourEconomy: Feature👍What the Black feminists who resisted state violence can teach us about careThe history of political organising among marginalised communities in the UK shows us the value of nurturing networks
-
Published in:ourEconomy: Analysis👍Why the climate crisis is a care crisis – and how we can avert itWe’re watching a global failure to protect life unfold in the pursuit of profit. Here’s what needs to happen instead
-
Published in:ourEconomy: Feature👍Cheap labour and AI won’t fix our care crisis. Here’s a real solutionPeople are living longer, with more care needs. We must rebalance our relationship to work, the planet and each other
-
Published in:ourEconomy: Analysis👍How to beat the cost-of-living crisis? Join the care workers fighting backThe past year has seen huge strikes. But the first steps taken by people new to workplace organising are big, too