A new £500m winter discharge fund was called insufficient with campaigners saying the Government must deliver a 'much bigger and bolder plan' for social care
was called insufficient with campaigners saying the Government must deliver a “much bigger and bolder plan” for social care. Charities, social care providers and councils welcomed the cash injection but said it will not “touch the sides” of what the struggling sector needs.
She also announced a £15m fund to help recruit more care workers from abroad this year, acknowledging the country is experiencing a shortage of carers. However, groups expressed concern at a lack of a long-term plan for social care and warned the Government it should not be viewed purely as a means to release pressure on the NHS.
Health think-thanks said the reinstatement of a scheme to help patients off NHS wards and into social care will relieve some of the pressure on hospitals, but that a “short-term, short-notice pot of cash” is not going to help services to address unmet need, improve quality of care, or recruit and retain more staff. There are approximately 165,000 vacancies in the sector with supermarkets tempting staff away with better salaries.
“The single most significant reason many people find it hard to access care is the chronic lack of staff across both NHS and social care.and has been many years in the making. Many of the other measures announced by the Secretary of State, such as extending the emergency registration scheme for retired staff to re-join the NHS, changes to pensions, and a drive to enlist more health service volunteers, are welcome, but they are too little too late to avoid an extremely difficult winter.
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