From the Editor: ADASS Spring Survey shows care provision lagging behind increasing demand
The Care Home Environment Magazine
The Care Home Environment is the leading business information resource focusing on the build and equipping of care homes
The ADASS Spring Survey 2023 says that while short-term government investment has helped reduce the number of people waiting for care, overall care provision is not keeping pace with increasing need.
According to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) , care waiting lists remain far too high and could rise again this winter without more staff. As a result, most councils are not confident they can offer the minimum social care support required by law.
ADASS is calling on the government to:
The survey found that council social care teams are supporting more people coming out of hospital with complex health and support needs. Three quarters of councils say the size of care packages for people being discharged from hospital – the number of hours and numbers of carers they need – has increased, and over half say they have seen an increase in the numbers of people needing social care due to delays to hospital admissions or not being admitted at all. Eighty one per cent of Directors agreed that increased NHS pressures will lead to adult social care taking responsibility for services which previously the NHS would have arranged or delivered.
Social care leaders say they are caught in a vicious cycle, struggling to prioritise support to keep people healthy, independent, and working, so they can continue to contribute to the economy and their communities.
Beverley Tarka, ADASS president, said: “Our findings show that a short-term funding boost from the government and the hard work social care teams have done to rebuild services after the pandemic is making a difference to thousands of people needing support and care, but we’re not out of the woods yet. Leaders tell us they are paddling hard to keep up against a tide of increasing and complex needs.
“While the focus on people coming out of hospital is important, we need to focus more funds on keeping people independent and out of hospital in the first place so that they don’t end up needing more costly and complex medical care, which is bad for them and for the public purse.
“To meet the challenges, we need a skilled and valued workforce to do this – bringing pay in line with equivalent posts in the NHS is important first step. And we need to offer investment in training and real career prospects in the profession so we can compete with other sectors.
“In the short-term we are urging the government to unlock the ￡600m social care reform funding they have held back so we can improve both staffing and support carers to help keep people in their homes. But to make real progress, we need a long-term plan for investment … and the political will to make social care a priority over the next ten years so everyone can get the care they need, when they need it in the future.”
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