Carers UK responds to CQC’s ‘State of Care’ report with a call for investment in social care and community support

Responding to the Care Quality Commission’s recent report about the state of health and social care in England, Emily Holzhausen OBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK, has called for the UK Government to invest in adult social care for future sustainability.

“A rising tide of demand for acute services is being fuelled by the lack of consistent accessible community health and care services. Today’s report shows many areas are struggling with the challenge of delivering good quality and joined up care in this environment.
 
“The experience of families is that it can be a battle to get the right support through their GP, from a care worker or from a district nurse. Many feel forced to turn to acute accident and emergency services because of a lack of alternatives in the community.
 
“The growing funding gap for social care services, the pressure on acute hospitals to discharge patients back into the community and the disjointed approach of health and care services evidenced in this report all add up to family and friends picking up more intensive and complicated caring roles at home. This increasing reliance on unpaid care to pick up the pieces of a fragmented and inconsistent system is not sustainable.
 
“We urge the Chancellor to use the forthcoming budget to invest in care now to close the £2billion funding gap expected by 2020 and to put social care on a sustainable footing for the future. Without this the impact will continue to be felt by families already seeing a strain on their own health, careers and relationships from caring without access to breaks and support.”

For 50 years, Carers UK has been a national membership charity for carers, which is led by unpaid carers for unpaid carers. It provides advice, information and support for carers and connects carers together.