The ADASS Spring Survey offers further evidence of a system under profound strain. When local authorities are forced to divert limited resources into crisis management, the opportunity to invest in preventative, early intervention is lost. This not only undermines outcomes for people who draw on care and support but also the Government’s own ambitions for both social care and the NHS.
A sustainable health and care system relies on a rebalanced model—one that moves resources into community settings to enable support to be delivered earlier, closer to home, and in ways that promote independence. The Government’s Ten-Year Plan rightly looks to address this—but largely overlooks the essential role of social care.
Social care plays a vital role in facilitating safe hospital discharge, supporting individuals to maintain their wellbeing at home and enabling them to lead independent and fulfilling lives. Although the sector is in desperate need of reform to unlock its full potential, it has already done the work to identify what the problems are through reports such as this one. It has also been developing solutions that can be deployed now to improve the efficiency, integration and quality of care through projects like the ones funded by the Department of Health and Social Care’s SCIE-supported Accelerating Reform Fund.
It is now up to the Government, working in partnership with social care leaders, to ensure the preventative role of social care is not sidelined but prioritised in our health and care system reforms.”
Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)
Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)