Public support increase in social care spending

New polling for the NHS Confederation has found that over 80 per cent of the British public support a 3.9 per cent increase in social care spending.

That spend rise is considered the minimum uplift needed just to maintain current levels of provision for a projected rise in demand for social care services. Carried out by by IPSOS Mori, the poll also revealed that 77 per cent support a four per cent increase in healthcare spending to help meet growing demand and make some ‘modest improvements’.

NHS Confederation claim that a funding boost is needed to address inconsistent social care provision across the UK and to tackle the increasing numbers of people with unmet care needs.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “We were promised radical reform of social care but yet again nothing has been forthcoming. This has been an area of failure by successive governments which has let down millions of elderly and vulnerable people. Now the delays and dithering have to stop.

“Our report has sparked an important debate among politicians and the public about the future of health and social care in this country and demonstrated how dependent they are on each other. It demolishes the idea that the current system and funding levels are sustainable. The evidence makes the compelling case that we cannot go on running as we are while the new polling evidence shows the British public agrees. The choice is either significant investment or at best a period of managed decline.”

A new paper, released by the NHS Confederation at its annual conference in Manchester, puts forward the NHS view the issues engulfing social care. The organisation has also launched a petition to secure a parliamentary debate on a commitment to health and social care funding to 2035.