Government’s abysmal failure led to thousands of unneccessary deaths

THE coronavirus has shown the structure and funding of the care system to be in need of radical Government reform.

In common with the recently issued Amnesty International report and many other commentators, the report of the cross-party Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons is scathing about the Government’s failure to protect care homes during the pandemic.

Published at the end of July, it condemns the Government’s reckless decision to discharge thousands of patients into care homes without Covid-19 tests and its failure to protect staff and residents in the homes.

But the report went further than that. It stated: ‘This pandemic has shown the tragic impact of delaying much needed social care reform, and instead treating the sector as the NHS’S poor relation… This Committee has highlighted the need for change in the social care sector for many years, particularly around the interface between health and social care. Despite the intentions of successive Governments, there have been ongoing delays to reforming and integrating the two sectors.’

During the panic in the early days of the virus, Government and NHS management decided they had to protect the NHS at all costs.

Because, in their eyes, social care has a lower priority to the NHS and is a separate system and culture that they do not understand, they failed to act to protect care homes until it was too late.

This abysmal failure led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

If health and social care had been integrated, centrally managed and equally funded, this tragedy might have been avoided.

Of course, this chasm exists during normal times too. Unlike NHS care, which is free and funded by taxation, social care is means-tested and funded by local authorities, plus private contributions.

The providers of social care, both in care homes and in the community are now mostly private, profit-making companies.

Due to Government cuts to councils and problems in the ‘care market’, it has been clear for decades that social care is in danger of collapsing.

Also, it is manifestly unfair that those with long-term social care needs in care homes can end up with huge bills, nearly wiping out any savings that they intended to pass on to relatives.

Nurses and care workers in the NHS should be paid far more for their valuable work but social care workers are worse off still.

Many are employed on a casual basis and can earn more stacking shelves at the local supermarket. They are usually given little training and their tight schedules mean that they are always under pressure of time. It is hardly surprising then, that recruiting and retaining social care staff is always a problem.

Given all this, it is to the credit of some companies and workers that there are still some examples of excellent social care to be found.

During the many years I have worked for the Grey Power movement I have lost count of the number of people (the cared for, residents and staff) who have told me how the adult social care system is letting them down.

During that time I have seen TV documentary after TV documentary exposing the failings in social care and the stress and suffering of everybody in the system.

Since the late 1990s, successive governments, Labour and Conservative, have failed to take decisive action to fund and reform the care system.

In December 1997, the Labour Government established a Royal Commission on long-term care for the elderly led by Professor Sir Stuart Sutherland.

The Commission’s report, With Respect to Old Age, was published in March 1999 and advocated free personal care funded by general taxation.

Despite Sir Stuart stating ‘doing nothing is not an option’ the Government response in July 2000 was to reject the report’s main recommendation and do nothing.

After that we have had the Wanless Report in 2002, ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ White Paper (2006), ‘Shaping the Future of Care Together’ Green Paper (2009), ‘Building the National Care Service’ White Paper (2010), the Dilnot Commission in 2011, the Care Act in 2014 and many more initiatives. All have led nowhere and while the politicians waffled and prevaricated, generations of frail older and disabled people have suffered.

When Boris Johnson took over as Prime Minister from Theresa May he vowed to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all.”

We desperately need a care system that is equipped to support all the most vulnerable.

I hope Mr Johnson keeps his promise but, given the record of Governments over the best part of three decades, I will believe it when I see it.

THREE men were arrested after a stolen car was stopped by police. The men, aged 26 and 27, from Stoke-on-trent, were held on Wednesday after police saw a car that fitted the description of one taken on Monday.