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Social care funds slashed by £250 million amid staffing crisis

Promised funding for social care reform in England has been halved despite warnings of ‘catastrophic’ effects of ‘ill-judged raid’
A nurse helps an older patient walk down a hospital corridor: promised funding for social care reform has been halved despite warnings of catastrophic effects

Promised funding for social care reform in England has been halved despite warnings of ‘catastrophic’ effects of ‘ill-judged raid’

A nurse helps an older patient walk down a hospital corridor: promised funding for social care reform has been halved despite warnings of catastrophic effects
Picture: Charles Milligan

Halving funding promised for the social care workforce in England will be catastrophic, experts have warned.

The warning comes after the government confirmed millions of pounds promised to plug staffing shortages in social care have been held back.

Government slashes social care funding by £250 million

In its People at the Heart of Care white paper on adult social care reform, published in December 2021, the government pledged to invest some £500 million over the next three years. However, it has now confirmed a new workforce pathway for social care will only be backed by £250 million.

Anita Astle, managing director of Wren Hall Nursing Homes and registered nurse, said this would be catastrophic for the sector, which is already struggling to recruit and retain nurses.

‘We’re on a steady decline and we will continue on that decline. £500 million wasn’t going to save the sector, so half of that isn’t going to have any bearing at all, the decline is still going to happen,’ she told Nursing Standard.

‘Unless something is done we are not going to be able to support those with complex nursing needs in our sector. They will need to be nursed in NHS hospital beds and that is going to clog hospitals, and then there’s going to be this vicious circle where people can’t be moved out of hospital but also people can’t be moved into hospital.’

‘Ill-judged raid’ on funds will have knock-on effect on hospital discharges

Adult social care in England has a registered nursing vacancy rate of about 4,900, one of the highest among staff groups in the sector. Overall, the sector has more than 160,000 posts it needs to fill.

Charities and social care experts have warned underinvestment will also hold back improvements in care and innovations in the sector, with the Nuffield Trust condemning the announcement as ‘another ill-judged raid on a social care system already on the brink’.

However, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed up to £600 million of funding has not yet been allocated and will be invested over the next two years. It also confirmed £1.6 billion will be allocated over the next two years to improve hospital discharge.

12,000 stuck in hospital in January due to struggling social care system

This winter saw the full effects of a social care system on its knees as patients were kept in hospital due to a lack of space in social care. In January, NHS Confederation warned some 12,000 patients were stuck in hospital due to a lack of social care support.

Recent analysis by the King’s Fund estimated that delays in people leaving hospital in England could be costing an average of £395 per night.

The RCN at the time wrote to health and social care secretary Steve Barclay warning that the social care sector was struggling to recruit registered and non-registered nursing staff.


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