Home care system broken, says former government adviser

A former government policy adviser has described Britain’s home care system as broken as his company sees an increase in councils seeking its help.

Supercarers founder Adam Pike said the system is up against funding cuts, a shortage of nurses and carers, and a ‘truly terrifying’ rise in demand for care driven by an ageing population.

Negative picture

‘The home care system is broken,’ said Mr Pike. ‘It’s broken for families, broken for the people that need the care, and broken for the people who provide care.’

Mr Pike previously worked as a social care policy adviser to the cabinet office, and as a consultant for the treasury.

He said his company – an online platform that matches families to home carers at a standard rate of £14 an hour – is gaining attention from councils ‘desperately seeking new ways to find support for their older populations’.

‘We have local authorities who have approached us, and we have direct payment recipients – that is, customers who are receiving direct payments from their local authorities,’ he explained.

Funding issues

UK residents with assets worth more than £23,000 do not receive government assistance in paying for full-time care, he said, while money is increasingly being focused only on those with critical or substantial needs.

‘The vast majority of people who have low or moderate needs don’t get any support, which in my view is strategically naive because people who have low or moderate needs today will have critical needs tomorrow,’ he said.

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