Vicky McDermott, Chair of the Care and Support Alliance, said:
“The Government cannot keep ignoring that underfunding social care is short sighted and damaging. It is putting unnecessary pressure on the NHS and worsening people’s health.
“This report highlights that the NHS is losing £820 million a year on treating older patients who no longer need to be in hospital and 2.7 million acute hospital bed days were occupied needlessly. It also highlights that delayed transfers of care have increased substantially over the past two years and a main driver for this delay is waiting for a package of home care and waiting for a nursing home placement.
“The social care sector has lost £4.6 billion over the last 5 years (1) and there will be an estimated shortfall of between £2.8 billion and £3.5 billion (2) by the end of this parliament. The Government urgently needs to get funding into the system to ensure people get the care they need at home and aren’t kept in hospital without reason.”
Notes to Editors
1) ADASS, Budget Survey 2015 Report, June 15
- Even if every council utilised the social care precept, by the end of this parliament, the funding gap in social care is estimated to reach between £2.8 billion and £3.5 billion. (Nuffield Trust, The Health Foundation and the Kings Fund, The Spending Review: what does it mean for health and social care?, December 2015, http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/sites/files/nuffield/publication/spending-review-nuffield-health-kings-fund-december-2015.pdf )
NHS England figures show that more than a million hospital days were lost due to delayed discharges in 2015. In 2012-13, more than a million people were readmitted to hospital as an emergency within 30 days of discharge. This costed the NHS £2.4 billion (https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/winter-daily-sitrep-2014-15-data/)
The Care and Support Alliance represents more than 80 of Britain’s leading charities campaigning alongside the millions of older people, disabled people and their carers who deserve decent care
Media Contact:
Gavin Callaghan 07908 698743/ gavin.callaghan@papworthtrust.org.uk