Papering over the cracks: the impact of social care funding on the NHS
Key points
Demand for health and social care will continue to rise particularly with the increase in the number of very old people and adults living with multiple disabilities. The population of over-65s is projected to grow by 50 per cent over the next 20 years. We must ensure that the health and social care system meets the needs of this growing demographic.
• Local authorities currently face huge financial pressures. When people’s needs are not met by the social care system, they turn to the NHS. This is not an issue for the future but for now Sixty six per cent of NHS leaders said that shortfalls in local authority spending had impacted on their services over the past year.
• There are large numbers of people who are experiencing delays in being transferred to the right sort of care. This has both a financial and a human cost. Delayed transfers in care currently cost the NHS £545,000 per day (approximately £200 million per year). They are distressing for patients and, without action, the situation will get worse.
• There are two key issues for the Government to address: the current funding gap for social care and the need to implement a long-term solution. In the last Comprehensive Spending Review, the Government allocated an extra £2 billion to social care by 2015. £1 billion of this was transferred from the NHS. We recognised this as a necessary ‘sticking plaster’ in the short term. However, the transfer did not represent a long-term solution. In many areas this money has had to be used to paper over the cracks in the system and local authorities have had to plan on the basis that this money will continue to be available. Without further action on funding, even the basic social care that we currently expect for the very old will not be available in the future from local authority-funded social care.
• If the long-term funding challenges are not solved, the system will become unsustainable. The Dilnot Commission's proposals are the most credible and practical solution on social care funding. The Government must commit to implementing them as soon as possible. It will cost £2 billion to implement the proposals. The Government must include these extra funds in the next Spending Review and clarify where it will find the money.
• In the long term, it is not sustainable to expect the funding shortfall of £2 billion for social care to come from the NHS. The NHS already needs to deliver an unprecedented level of efficiency savings with a budget which is essentially flat. To increase NHS efficiency savings by at least £2 billion a year on top of the Government's existing requirement to save £4 to £5 billion a year will not be possible without severely affecting patient care. We are calling for a cross-party consensus on solving the challenges raised.
• The ambitions of the social care reforms will only be realised if the funding challenges are solved.
Published : 30th September 2012
Publisher : NHS Confederation [ More From This Publisher ]
Rights : NHS Confederation
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