The Tories are today accused of a “crisis-cash-repeat” approach to funding social care.
Whitehall think tank the Institute for Government warns that ministers’ tactics for the sector are “unlikely to ensure performance reaches a level the public – and many politicians – expect”.
In a 16-page report, Adult social care: Short-term support and long-term stability, out today, experts say a “lack of provision is the result of historic underinvestment in the service”.
They add: “Government spending on adult social care fell in real terms throughout the first half of the 2010s, before climbing in the second half of the decade but only reaching 2009/10 levels again in 2019/20.
“This has made it more difficult to invest in the workforce - the long-standing staffing crisis in adult social care is now arguably more severe than the higher profile one in the NHS.
“This makes it difficult to provide the desired level and standard of care, particularly domiciliary care, but also in nursing and residential care.”
Experts say boosting social care is key to helping ease pressure on the NHS, freeing up hospital beds because patients well enough to be discharged can leave.
But today’s report says a “lack of financial stability means workforce issues aren’t addressed”, with 165,000 social care vacancies.
Report author Stuart Hoddinott warned: “The Government’s reliance on short-term, emergency funding pots was too little, too late to solve either the adult social care workforce crisis or the problem of delayed discharge out of hospitals over the winter.
“Instead, adult social care providers were left with little choice but to hire expensive agency staff in an attempt to meet the Government’s unrealistic expectations.
“The Government has provided social care with extra money, but unless it adopts a long-term approach, it will continue to waste resources as it continues in a cycle of crisis-cash-repeat.”
The IfG calls for a “sustained funding increase for social care to allow for higher wages, including through a sector-specific national living wage, which would improve the workforce situation”.
Age UK’s charity director Caroline Abrahams said last night: “There isn’t enough social care to go round and so some older people are waiting endlessly for help they can't really live without.
“At Age UK we are especially concerned for all the older people with some unmet need for care, living alone, without any family or friends - we fear there are many tragedies playing out silently behind closed doors.
“Social care needs refinancing and reforming through a long-term plan, backed by government money.
“But important first steps in the Budget would be giving care workers a pay rise, helping people who need care by making the means-test more generous, and doubling the funding available for breaks for unpaid carers.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have made up to £7.5billion available over the next two years to support social care services – the biggest funding increase in history.
“This will help local authorities address waiting lists and workforce pressures in the sector.
“Most paid carers are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and conditions independently, but the Government has raised the national living wage by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over.
“We are working to reduce vacancies through a domestic recruitment campaign, £15million investment in international recruitment and making care workers eligible for the Health and Care Visa.”
The Mirror is campaigning for Fair Care For All, including paying carers the Real Living Wage.
