Home care to get 40% of £500m winter adult social care funding

Two-fifths of England's £500m winter adult social care funding is to be allocated to local authorities to spend on boosting the home care workforce and home care initiatives, with the rest of the money going to the NHS.

The funding is intended to speed up the time it takes to discharge patients from hospital and by doing so free up hospital beds to reduce ambulance handover times, with £300 million being given to integrated care boards (ICBs), which have replaced clinical commissioning groups, and £200 million for local authorities.

At the NHS Providers annual conference, health and social care secretary, Steve Barclay said: “I am pleased to announce details of the fund, which will be provided to integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to free up beds at a time when bed occupancy is at 94 per cent, and to improve capacity for social care.”

He revealed that the first part of the funding will be given by early December and the second part at the end of January.

"In line with our devolved and data-driven approach, we will allow local areas to determine how we can speed up the discharge of patients out of hospital.

"This might be through purchasing supportive technology, through boosting domiciliary care capacity or funding physiotherapists or occupational therapists to support recovery at home."

Mr Barclay added: “Tackling delayed discharge must be an effort that spans a number of different areas across health and care, with social care, primary care and community services all working together with hospitals.”

'Focus seemed to be moving 'bed blockers' rather than investing in social care'

Karolina Gerlich of the Care Workers Charity welcomed the “detail about the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund which is desperately needed to address frighteningly long waiting lists for care”.

However she added: “The focus seemed to be on moving ‘bed blockers’ rather than investing in social care as a crucial public service. We are also concerned to hear that this funding will be provided to ICBs which are at an early stage of development and so far are failing to incorporate strong representation from adult social care.

“Unfortunately, this health-focused statement only reinforces what frontline care workers already know – that the government cares more about headline-grabbing fixes in the NHS than social care reform.

“In social care, we talk about people not patients. People, who have hopes and dreams, are entitled to support which enables them to live the life they choose. They are not just taking up space in hospitals.”

James White, head of public affairs and campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, responded to the funding allocation, saying: “We were pleased to hear [dementia] is one of Steve Barclay’s priorities, as well as the reiteration to the already promised £500m discharge fund, which will go some way to increase home care capacity and get people out of hospital beds and into their own homes.

“But there is so much more to be done. We need to see long-term investment for social care and the urgent delivery of the ten-year plan for dementia – this can have immense value to join up care, spanning across all health and social care sectors.

"Dementia needs investment far, far earlier – it’s not acceptable that too many people reach crisis point before getting the right support, which ends up costing millions to the NHS."