Care needs assessment waiting list due to double by November

Six hundred people a day are joining growing waiting lists to be assessed for care and support in England, as adult social care buckles under unprecedented pressures, according to a new report.

The latest figures carried out by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) shows that almost 300,000 people are now waiting for an assessment of their needs by social workers, an increase of 90,000 (44 per cent) in five months. One in four has been waiting longer than six months.

At this rate of increase, the number waiting will hit 400,000 by November, double the total 12 months previously.

Cathie Williams, ADASS chief executive, said: “Contrary to claims, social care is not being fixed and we need decisive action and funding now to get us through the months ahead and to start to build the foundations of the reformed system that we all want to see.

“One big reason why almost 40,000 people are waiting for the care and support they need to actually start is that care providers simply do not have the pairs of hands they need to sustain services.”

People 'are being left in uncertainty, dependency and pain'

On the count date of 30 April, a total 294,449 people were awaiting the first assessment of their care and support needs, of whom 73,792 had been waiting more than six months.

A further 37,447 people who had been assessed as needing a service were waiting for it to begin or for their first direct payment to arrange it for themselves. And 210,106 people receiving a service or payment were overdue for a review under the terms of the Care Act.

In all, 542,002 people were awaiting assessment, review or the start of a service or direct payment – an increase of 37 per cent on an equivalent count in November last year.

The figures come just a week after ADASS published its annual Spring Survey of its members and found 82 per cent of councils were dealing with increased numbers of referrals of people from hospitals and 74 per cent were reporting more referrals or requests for support from the community.

Almost seven in 10 ADASS members surveyed said that care providers in their area had closed or handed back contracts. Many more said they could not meet all needs for care and support because of providers’ inability to recruit and retain staff.

Sarah McClinton, ADASS President, said: “These new findings confirm our worst fears for adult social care. The picture is deteriorating rapidly and people in need of care and support to enable them to live full and independent lives are being left in uncertainty, dependency and pain."

The latest figures were extrapolated from responses from 83 councils (55 per cent of those concerned).