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A once in a generation chance to address the social care crisis

By Guest
July 4, 2011 at 9:45 am

The Dilnot Review is a once in a generation chance to tackle what can only be described as a crisis in social care. If questions around how we pay for an ageing population’s needs aren’t dealt with now, we are simply storing up a far greater crisis for the future.

There can be no escaping the fact that much more money and investment is needed if we are to meet the long term needs of today and tomorrow. But up and down the country local authorities are cutting the type of social care support which could reduce or defer the need for residential care.

Today we urge the Government to act urgently to halt this reduction in provision. It will undoubtedly cause hardship, particularly to the most vulnerable. And it will place even more strains on the system.

At the British Red Cross we passionately believe that social care is as much about community support as it is about long term residential care. Our home-based care services have been shown to aid speedier recovery and allow a better quality of life. And crucially, at a time when money is tight they can prevent readmission to hospital and save money. One such project based in Nottingham has saved the NHS over £250,000 this year alone.

Guest post from George McNamara,  head of public policy.

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Tags: Health and social care

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 4th, 2011 at 9:45 am and is filed under Health and social care, UK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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