Steve Veevers, Chief Executive at Hft, a charity supporting people with learning disabilities, shares his thoughts on the current state of social care and hopes for the future.
Undeniably and by every available measure, social care is on a precipice.
That’s a bold statement but there’s no other way to describe it. The sector has been engulfed in a sustained state of crisis for, at the very least, the past 12 months. Really, for the last few years. Both care providers and local government are facing increasing financial and workforce pressures in the face of rapidly growing demand.
The direct impact of this has led to many sleepless nights. The armed forces have a term for it: ‘battle fatigue’.
Because it’s not just about numbers and statistics. It’s about much more than that – real people. It’s real people whose lives are affected by constant cuts, empty promises and a lack of action from the Government, not forgetting the long-lasting impact of Covid-19. And my biggest concern? That, in the face of austerity and indifference, we’re losing our collective humanity. That fundamentally, social care, where those who draw upon care and support can live rich and fulfilled lives, is being reduced by incremental and year-on-year cuts. Every year we face slightly harder choices than the year before.
A prime example is that, for years, society has collectively pushed the personalisation agenda, advocating for individuals to have the greatest possible influence and choice about how they receive support and, subsequently, how they live their lives. Yet, largely due to cash constraints, a number of local authorities have worryingly made moves to undermine such progress, in some cases proposing that learning disabled adults are moved from their homes to residential settings, with little consideration for what works best for the individual.
The importance of personalised care and support is massively under-estimated here, which is largely a result of limited budgets and options for policymakers.
Our 2023 Sector Pulse Check report [1], produced in partnership with Care England, saw 79% of providers report that local authority fee increases did not cover the impact of the National Living Wage rise in 2023 – a glaring example that our sector is limited by chronic underfunding and squeezed local authority budgets that limit the scope for fee increases to properly cover the costs of care.
Our report also revealed that 43% of adult social care providers were forced to close part of their organisation or hand back contracts in 2023 due to cost pressures. Such cost pressures also resulted in 18% of providers offering care to fewer individuals, while two in five providers considered taking steps to shut up shop altogether.
This is worrying given the growing demand for care and support across the UK, and has detrimental consequences. Last year, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Servies [2], (ADASS), reported that nearly 250,000 people are waiting for care – a significant portion of the adult population with potential unmet needs.
I hope local authorities don’t lose sight of the value of social care and, as providers, we’ll ensure we continue to be driven by our duty of care to the individuals we support. I once had a wise man say to me that, if the NHS is about saving lives, social care is about people having meaningful lives.
At its best, adult social care empowers people to live the life they choose, their way. But to be at its best, urgent and long-term reform is needed.
At Hft, we would like to see a commitment to funding social care once and for all, with ringfenced funding for local authorities that enables them to pay the real cost of care and assurance that the money will reach those who draw on care and support, thus making a tangible impact on their lives. Sticking plaster solutions work for no one.
With a general election looming, this is a particularly crucial time for the Government, this year and the next, to get social care right. Social care isn’t something that can be pushed to the bottom of a manifesto. It needs to be prioritised. As do those who draw upon care and support, including learning disabled adults, so they can live their best life possible.
Only then do I think I might get a good night’s sleep.
@Hftonline
hft.org.uk
[1] hft.org.uk/get-involved/public-affairs-policy-and-campaigns-sector-pulse-check/
[2]adass.org.uk/media/9949/autumn-survey-report-2023-adult-social-care-budgets-waiting-times-2-v2.pdf?bcs-agent-scanner=a182ec10-da37-8146-a030-969ef72c64e2
