Coronavirus highlights need for long-term social care reform

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the need for long term social care reform that delivers improvements in the care sector and removes the historic funding barrier between health and social care.

This is the message from new Policy Exchange research, authored by Richard Sloggett, Policy Exchange’s Health and Social Care Lead, and until recently Special Adviser to Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary.

The paper, ‘Ending the divide’, argues that the Government’s recent promises on social care must now be strengthened.

The research says: “Whilst the COVID 19 pandemic has already seen amazing acts of bravery, collaboration and joint working across local and national healthcare services, it has also revealed the stark contrast between the NHS and social care. The over 70s and those with underlying health conditions have been most at risk from the virus. Social care staff have been lower down the healthcare priority order for testing and Personal Protective Equipment. Some care staff were not classified as key workers by some schools and shops.

“This virus has raised fundamental questions about the resources available for health and social care, how they are divided, how workforce challenges across the NHS and social care can be addressed, the potential of digital health to transform the access and delivery of healthcare services and the resilience of healthcare supply chains.”

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Social care as a whole has been desperately underfunded for decades and we have been consistently calling for a cross-party consensus on the future of care and how we pay for it, long before the coronavirus crisis.

“This report echoes our own calls about how social care should be on an equal footing with the NHS. People of all ages should be able to live the lives they want to lead and we are pleased the Government previously announced it was to begin cross-party talks, as part of finding a long-term, sustainable solution for adult social care.

“What we also need more immediately is urgent access for all social care staff to reliable and ongoing supplies of quality PPE, increased rapid and comprehensive testing and greater support with staffing and other equipment, if we are to defeat this disease.”