Healthwatch England brings attention to the challenges associated with social care

Healthwatch England looked at what people tell them about the adult social care support as almost two million requests for adult social care support made each year. 

Social care stands as a crucial service, offering long-term support to more than 818,000 adults in England, helping them in achieving maximum independence.

In contrast to the NHS, social care doesn't come free. It operates on a means-tested basis, and after your local authority evaluates your requirements, the majority of individuals find themselves responsible for funding a portion of their care expenses.

According to the Healthwatch England research, they found some positives and concluded 3 big challenges for social care sector

Positive impact:

• Good social care support makes a life-changing difference
• Helping people to be as independent and fulfilled as possible.

Three Big challenges:

• Rising demand: In recent years, there has been a rise in demand for social care due to an ageing population and the growing number of adults with disabilities. Local authorities received nearly two million requests for adult social care in 2021-22.
• Delays: Waiting for assessments, reviews, care, and support or direct payments can take months, leaving almost 500,000 people waiting for more than half a year.
• Staff shortages: There is also a shortfall in social care workers, resulting in over half a million hours of care not being provided to people who need it. In the meantime, unpaid carers often bear the brunt of long waiting times and cuts to adult social care local authority budgets.

To make social care better, Healthwatch England is calling for:

• Councils to get the resources and support they need to provide proactive information and advice services to their communities;
• Supported calls for care home residents to have a legal right to care support workers and visitors (such as family and friends); and
• Supported calls for social care reform, increased service investment, and a renewed focus on implementing previously announced reforms.

For more information, please read the full article here.