Social care sector responds to Chancellor's speech saying "We need to see the issues facing homecare addressed now, as a matter of urgency"

The spending review statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that the Government will be investing an extra £3.8bn to integrate health and social care services.

Many social care providers have welcomed the announcement and commitment from the Government to support the needs of people in the health and social care sector.

In his speech the Chancellor said: “Many older people do not just use the NHS, they also use the social care system.

“If we are honest they often fall between the cracks of the two systems, being pushed from pillar to post and not getting the care they should.”

It is hoped that the investment will improve home care services within the community to protect older people from what the Chancellor described as: “The tragedy of people being dropped in A&E on a Friday night to spend the weekend in hospital because we can’t look after them properly in social care.”

It is also hoped the investment will relieve pressure on A&E services and save the NHS 1bn.

However there has been strong criticism after the spending review announced cuts to local councils by ten per cent, which has worried many social care services.

The United Kingdom Home Care Association (UKHCA), the professional association for home care providers has highlighted its view that the reductions in local council funding could have a negative impact on home care providers.

UKHCA chair, Mike Padgham said: “There wasn’t much in the Chancellor’s speech to give us hope in social care. Publicly funded homecare has been squeezed in real terms over the past three years.

“Unless new, adequate funding is identified for councils, we fear there will be more reductions in the care people receive in their own homes.

“The evidence is clear that where people receive less homecare than they need, they are more likely to experience health issues, falls and unexpected hospital admissions – unintended consequences that will cost the public more in the long term and does not seem to make economic sense.

Mr Padgham however did comment on the move towards integrated health and social care, saying it was a positive step from the Government.

He said: “We welcome the move towards closer working between health and social care. The plans should help to ease the pressure on the NHS, and have a potential positive impact on social care, but we need to see the issues facing homecare addressed now, as a matter of urgency.”

The Association for Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) also welcomed the investment, but expressed a similar concern over the potential negative impact that local governments will experience from the 10 per cent cut in their resource budgets.

ADASS president Sandie Keene said: "The move towards closer work with the health service is entirely welcome, and recognises the developments already taking place. The decision to link health and social care funding so closely together in this announcement will have a positive impact in accelerating the changes we are making and acknowledges the role of social care in the delivery of effective health services, particularly for those people with long term conditions.”

“However, social services for adults are deeply woven into the fabric of local government services. The benefits gained from closer integration with the services provided by our health colleagues will be rendered less valuable if the intricate relationship with other local government services, such as children's, housing, leisure and culture is threatened by severe downward pressures on local government spending as a whole.”

Commenting on how the spending review will change housing services for older people, Anchor’s chief executive Jane Ashcroft said: ““The Chancellor’s commitment to integration for spending on health and social care is commendable and indicates progress, albeit sluggish, in the journey towards sustainable services for older people.”

Ms Ashcroft described Anchor’s campaign to create a dedicated minister of older people and said: “Anchor, along with 137,000 supporters, has been calling for a more holistic approach to older people’s needs by the appointment of a dedicated Minister for Older People. Only by making one person accountable for the evolving needs of our ageing society can we protect future generations as well as those vulnerable older people living in the UK today.”

Care UK, provider of care homes, home care and day clubs for vulnerable people throughout the UK has also spoken positively about the move for integrated health and social care in the UK.

However the chief executive, Mike Parish has expressed concerns that the changes will not complete taking effect until 2015 and said: “We need to develop a system of more integrated care pathways that move away from the present model of reactive and last minute healthcare to more planned and preventative care.”

“The spending review has also frozen council tax and imposed a 10 per cent cut in the resource budget for local authorities.

“Councils are already struggling to meet the growing demand for social care services; we’re seeing first-hand how the tighter eligibility criteria for support is making life tougher and more isolated for many, many older people. These cuts are going to make that situation worse so the £3 billion investment, when it arrives, is going to have a lot of ground to make up before it starts improving the situation for some of our most vulnerable members of society.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt accepted that the idea of integrated care is not a new initiative but promised the change described in the spending review is a positive move towards achieving fully integrated care.

Mr Hunt said: “Today we’ve put our money where our mouth is.

“We need to work differently to respond to the changing needs of the population and that means making joined-up services the norm, not the exception.

“The NHS budget will continue to be protected, but at a time when efficiencies are vital this settlement will help make sure we get maximum value out of every pound spent.”

It is hoped that moving £2bn from the NHS budget to social care funding will improve home care services for vulnerable and older people by giving them better joined up care and reduce avoidable hospitalizations of older people.

It is also hoped that this will have a positive effect on relieving the pressure currently facing NHS hospitals.

Chairman of the Local Government Association Sir Merrick Cockell said:

“The Government has made a positive, practical move in delivering on our call for the transfer of money from the health budget to help deliver services which keep people healthy, independent and out of hospital. Today’s announcement is a start towards addressing the very real crisis in providing care to some of the most vulnerable members of society.

“It will ultimately save taxpayers money and improve the quality of care people receive.

“Adult social care is suffering from long-term underfunding and the crisis this has created is one of the biggest problems facing this and future Governments.

“Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction but there’s a marathon left to run.”

Independent charity The Kings Fund’s chief executive Chris Ham said: “While the NHS budget remains protected, it is under intense pressure. The additional cuts in local government funding announced today will add to this, as well as increasing the strain on social care services.”

The College of Social Work has similarly commented on the announcement to join up the services of health and social care, expressing their concern over the impact frontline services will experience.

College chair Jo Cleary said: “We welcome the government’s announcement that it is investing £3.8 billion in a pooled health and social care budget as we believe that investing in more integrated care will deliver care more centred on individual needs. We fully support more joined up care and support. Social workers, together with NHS staff, are well placed to support families and carers to enable older and vulnerable people to have a better quality of life in their own homes and communities.

“But our members are telling us that they are extremely worried about the scale of reductions in frontline services which are having a huge impact on the quality of life for many older and vulnerable people."

Mr Padgham, of Care UK concluded: “As always, the devil is in the detail and we look forward to finding out more about how local authorities and the NHS will solve this long running challenge.”