Social care surviving on ‘borrowed time’

A new report from Age UK has concluded that the UK is living on borrowed time to save the social care system for older people.

The Health and Care of Older People in England 2017 demonstrates the immense challenges facing older people who need care, the numbers of whom increase every day, and the impact of the failure to provide it on their health and well-being, as well as the NHS.

Age UK argues that one in eight of the elderly population (aged over 65), nearly 1.2 million people, do not receive the care and support they need with essential daily living activities - a 48 per cent increase since 2010.

The charity urges the government to recognise the imminent danger which social care is now in and commit to an urgent injection of funds in the Spring Budget, and lead a process for developing a long term solution to the care crisis that incorporates the views of older and disabled people and all parts of the health and care sector.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently pledged action on social care, which covers care homes and help in the home, raising hope that a rescue package will be announced in the Budget in early March.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “The government has tried to prop up older people’s social care in three ways: through financial transfers from the NHS, a social care precept in local areas, and by calling on families and friends to do more. Unfortunately our analysis shows there are problems with all three approaches, which in any event are not enough to make up for the chronic shortfall in public funds.”