The country has a week to save social care and rescue the welfare of our oldest and most vulnerable residents, the Independent Care Group warned today.
The ICG says there is still time for politicians to put forward bold reform plans.
ICG Chair, Mike Padgham said: “We have just seven short days until a new Government is formed and if we are honest, none of the politicians seeking that office have really fired us with a bold, imaginative and credible plan for the way we look after older, vulnerable and disabled people in our communities.
“Our appeal is to the public to make a noise about the neglect of social care at this election and persuade those who want our vote to say more and do more.
“We have waited 30 years for reform and Labour, for example, is warning that it will take at least five years to see meaningful change.
“That is too long. We need to start work straight away, switching resources from the NHS into social care so that we start to meet unmet demand, tackle the delayed discharges that are blocking up NHS care and properly reward the fantastic social care workforce.
“In the long term, proper investment and reform in social care will pay dividends in money saved for the NHS. And as we grow the sector to support the 80% of us who will need social care in our lifetimes, we will contribute more to society and to the economy.”
The ICG is campaigning to make it a General Election for social care and to get the message across that after 30 years of neglect, social care deserves proper, bold, root and branch reform this time round.
In its manifesto, the ICG calls for the creation of a National Care Service, bringing NHS healthcare and social care under one roof, allied to greater investment in the sector and better recognition and reward for the workforce. It wants to see care provided for the 1.6m people who currently can’t access it and dementia treated like other serious conditions like heart disease and cancer with its treatment funded through the NHS.
So far, Labour has promised to introduce fair pay for the workforce, a cap on care costs and, eventually a National Care Service; the Conservatives promised the cap on care costs and better funding for local authorities; the Liberal Democrats have pledged £2 above minimum wage for carers, a Royal College of Care workers and better support for unpaid carers whilst the Greens promised an extra £20bn for social care and Reform promised more funding, but only after a Royal Commission.
Mr Padgham added: “All the main parties have offered something on social care but even taken together, their pledges don’t add up to the reform that is needed.
“Some 80% of us will need care in their lifetime but the sector isn’t ready to meet future demand. This General Election offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change that – but as a country we have to seize that chance.
“We urge everyone to join our campaign for social care. Challenge the candidates on the doorstep and at the hustings: ‘what are you going to do about the crisis in social care?’
“It isn’t too late to drag some better, bolder, bigger promises from those who will determine social care in the years to come.”
It is estimated that 1.6m people currently can’t get care and the sector is short of 152,000 staff. With rising demand it will need an extra 440,000 staff by 2035.
• The ICG manifesto has been sent to all the main party leaders. It incorporates the ICG’s Five Pillars of Social Care Reform document, which proposes ring-fencing a percentage of GDP for care, creating a National Care Service, setting a minimum carer wage, establishing a task force for reform and creating fair tariffs for services such as care beds and homecare visits.
Read the ICG manifesto here: https://www.independentcaregroup.co.uk/manifesto
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