Long term fix is needed

With the winter approaching, health professionals delivering care in the North East will understandably be nervous about what lies in store in the coming months.

The announcement by the Health Secretary at the annual Conservative Party Conference of an extra £240million for social care this winter will go some way towards easing pressure on front line services.

Of course this is just another short-term fix.

As experienced in the chaos of last winter, adequate staffing and capacity in social care is a vital part of relieving pressures in the NHS.

Patients can be discharged from hospital in a timely manner making more beds available for the increasing numbers of people accessing care during this busier period.

Given, however, the significant impact of decade’s worth of cuts to social care in the North East and across the country – down 8% in real terms in England since 2010 – this by no means offers the comprehensive remedy that is needed.

If we are to stop the practice of last-minute firefighting and put an end to what is now the normal crisis-mode of winter, the Government must provide the necessary long-term investment that is needed.

Only then will we begin to see the type of change that is necessary to relieve yearround pressures on services and enable sustained improvements to patient care. Dr George Rae, BMA North East regional council chair