Planning for social care beyond COVID-19

As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, we are faced with daily news about the pressure on adult social care, forgotten care homes and home care, and huge shortfall in resources and funding. Councils are struggling to meet unprecedented and rising need. The social care workforce, long under-valued and under-paid, face burn out.

Social care has been under strain for more than a generation, and it is not sustainable. However, even in the face of such challenges, there are many cases of excellent care and support. Social care is about enabling people to live every day well, whether you’re a young adult with a disability or living independently in older age. Innovations which, in the past, may have struggled to grow, are being spread at pace. Social care can be part of the fabric a new social contract. Now is the time to make progress and realise a high quality and sustainable adult social care system.

SCIE is looking forward to what social care might look like beyond COVID-19. We have asked senior figures in health and social care to offer their opinions on how we can take this opportunity to develop a service that is more innovative and ultimately more fit for purpose.

These opinions do not necessarily reflect SCIE's views.

Head-shot of the author, Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive, Skills for Care No baton changes: We must start from what people want (01 July 2020)
By Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive, Skills for Care

Head-shot of the author, Edel Harris, CEO of Mencap Please don’t burst this bubble – an exploration of the positive unintended consequences of COVID-19 (25 June 2020)
By Edel Harris, CEO of Mencap

Head-shot of the author, Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive, Independent Age Time to step up and invest in social care (16 June 2020)
By Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive, Independent Age

Head-shot of the author, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board The future of adult social care and support (15 June 2020)
By Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board

Head-shot of the author, Sally Warren, Director of Policy, the King's Fund Supporting better lives for people: how can health and care work together (10 June 2020)
By Sally Warren, Director of Policy, the King's Fund

Head-shot of the author, Neil Crowther, Crowther Consulting and Social Care Future Together we can (08 June 2020)
By Neil Crowther, Crowther Consulting and Social Care Future

Head-shot of the author, David Pearson CBE, Social Care lead in the NHS for COVID-19. Chair of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System Making bricks with straw. Integrating social care and health (01 June 2020)
By David Pearson CBE, Social Care lead in the NHS for COVID-19. Chair of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System

Head-shot of the author, Alex Fox OBE, Chief Executive of Shared Lives Plus and Trustee at the Social Care Institute for Excellence Rebuilding communities and rebuilding social care are deeply linked challenges (26 May 2020)
By Alex Fox OBE, Chief Executive of Shared Lives Plus and Trustee at the Social Care Institute for Excellence

Head-shot of the author, Ossie Stuart, SCIE trustee and equality and diversity consultant What we should learn from COVID-19; and what social care ought to be like in the future (21 May 2020)
By Ossie Stuart, SCIE trustee and equality and diversity consultant

Head-shot of the author, Kathryn Smith, Chief Executive, Social Care Institute for Excellence Charting a post-COVID-19 future for social care (14 May 2020)
By Kathryn Smith, Chief Executive, Social Care Institute for Excellence