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Fix social care if you want to save the NHS, ministers are urged

Health service crisis can’t be resolved without boosting adult social care capacity first, insist health leaders after PM pledges to speed up hospital discharges
Seated woman in a nursing home sitting room is offered support by member of nursing staff

Health service crisis can’t be resolved without boosting adult social care capacity first, insist health leaders after PM’ pledges to speed up hospital discharges

Seated woman in a nursing home sitting room is offered support by member of nursing staff
Picture: John Houlihan

Health leaders insist boosting capacity in social care must be given top priority if the gridlock in NHS emergency care is to be addressed.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said the government will release new funding to enable more people to be discharged from hospital into social care in a bid to free up desperately needed acute beds, as the NHS faces record emergency department waiting times.

But healthcare leaders have stressed the social care system, which is itself facing record staff shortages, does not have capacity to receive an influx of patients.

Appropriate support for people with complex needs

Professor of healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University Alison Leary told Nursing Standard many people being discharged into social care need ongoing nursing if they are to avoid a cycle of readmissions.

‘One of the issues is that people are interpreting “medically fit” to mean fit and just in need of a bit of help at home when actually these are some of the most vulnerable people with multiple conditions, frailty, dementia, or needing end of life care,’ she said.

Nurse staffing crisis in adult social care

In a letter to health and social care secretary Steve Barclay RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said social care providers struggle to recruit registered and non-registered nursing staff.

‘This has a massive impact on patient flow both into and out of the hospital. The vacancies in GP practices and lack of primary care provision puts even more pressure on acute services,’ she wrote.

Registering nursing is one of the staff groups with the highest vacancy levels in adult social care in England and the figure now stands at 4,900. Overall, the sector has 160,000 posts it needs to fill.

Effects of capacity shortage in social care are played out in the NHS

NHS Confederation said there are around 12,000 patients currently stuck in hospital because of a lack of social care support. Chief executive Matthew Taylor called on the government to address the capacity shortfall in social care that is affecting the NHS by compounding the delays in discharging people from acute care.

And NHS Providers director of communications Adam Brimelow called on ministers to fix social care to protect patient care, adding that inadequate funding and lack of capacity is harming an already overloaded NHS.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said it has committed £7.5 billion over the next two years to support adult social care.

‘This will allow more people to access high quality care and help address some of the challenges in the sector – including waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures,’ they said.


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