97% of NHS bosses slam social care
Broken system is ‘on its knees’
BRITAIN’S broken social care system is severely hampering the way the NHS can treat its patients, hospital bosses warn.
A snap poll found that 97 per cent of hospital chief executives and local health bosses believe the crisis in social care is damaging for the NHS and its patients.
Thousands of patients are left stuck in hospitals because there is nowhere for them to go – a scandal that is being driven by a lack of suitable care.
Just yesterday official statistics showed A&E waiting times are the worst on record, and 80,000 patients waited four hours for a bed last month alone. Yet 5,000 beds every day were occupied by people who were fit to be discharged.
The new poll, conducted by the NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, also found that 81 per cent of bosses think the social care system needs a long-term plan and significant investment. And 70 per cent said rebuilding social care in a sustainable way was a ‘critical priority’ for their area.
The Daily Mail is campaigning for an urgent solution to the social care crisis – particularly for the thousands of people with dementia who are bearing the brunt of the scandal.
Experts and politicians from across the political spectrum have backed the campaign, calling for an end to a situation in which 21,000 people every week have to sell their family homes to pay for care.
Anyone who has more than £23,250 in savings, including the value of their home, is rejected for state-funded care and has to stump up the money themselves. And the quality of that care is often appalling – with 22 per cent of homes that accommodate dementia patients classed as ‘ inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission.
There is huge demand for space in care homes or highquality carers to help people stay in their own house. So when people are admitted to hospital, they are often forced to stay there even when they are declared fit to leave. More than 350,000 signed the Mail’s petition to end the care scandal, which was handed in to Downing Street last month. Charities, academics and celebrities – including Dame Judi Dench, Michael Parkinson and Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes – backed the campaign.
The Mail is calling for Boris Johnson to set-up a cross-party group to examine new options for funding dementia care.
More than 130 health leaders, including bosses at NHS hospital and ambulance trusts, local clinical commissioning groups and private providers, took part in the NHS Confederation poll.
Niall Dickson, NHS Confederation chief executive, said: ‘This survey demonstrates just how seriously the social care crisis is impacting the NHS. We have seen the most challenging performance figures in recent days and they certainly reflect the fact the health service is having to deliver alongside a social care service that is on its knees.
‘We accept all the main political parties say they are committed to tackling this issue, but we now need action, not words.’
He added: ‘Failure to grasp the nettle will mean even more people will go without the care they need and more pressure will be piled onto existing social care staff, as well as an alreadystretched NHS.
‘With 122,000 vacancies across social care services and 1.4 million people believed to be going without the care and support they need every day, the incoming government must seize the opportunity and come forward with proposals that will last a generation and more.’
CAMPAIGN END DEMENTIA CARE COST BETRAYAL