No faith that government can tackle social care crisis

The government has made a hash of its promise to reform social care for older people. After Andrew Dilnot’s report, which recommended capping the cost of care, and calculated how much it would cost the government to pick up the rest of the bill, Westminster went into a tailspin.

The resulting stalling on the social care white paper means we have lost any faith in the government’s ability to tackle this problem and halt the crisis. So what can we do?

Lost faith
Research from older people’s care and housing charity Anchor has found that as few as 14% of over the 55’s have any confidence that the Government will find a solution to the social care crisis. More than two thirds of those aged over 55 believe the Coalition Government has not paid enough attention to social care. Half say the care system is now in crisis.

Despite election promises to prioritise social care, less than a quarter of older people (23%) are confident that good quality care will be made available to them when they need it.

Action
Respondents called for action to tackle this head on, with eight in ten (79%) demanding measures which improve the quality of care available to older people to be included in this summer’s social care white paper.

Older people are also hoping the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leadership will deliver on their election pledges to create greater integration between the NHS and social care provision – 70% of respondents want NHS and social care services to be more joined up as part of the Government’s white paper, thereby ensuring fewer older people fall through the gaps which currently blight the system.

Further measures on the white paper wish list include simplifying the process for applying for social care support (70%). And while many in the social care sector are concerned that funding reform has been sidelined, older people said the white paper should cap the costs which individuals will be expected to pay for social care (71%) and raise the means-tested threshold at which individuals must begin contributing to their own care (69%). Alongside funding, quality remains a key priority – two-thirds of older people hope the white paper will improve public access to information about standards of care (66%).

Jane Ashcroft, Chief Executive of Anchor, said:”Successive governments have failed to address the issue of social care funding. Older people are sending a clear message to the Coalition that the time has come to take the bull by the horns.”

Next steps
Ashcroft added: “We hope the Health Secretary will resist the temptation simply to tinker around the edges and believe reform must address the thorny issue of how care is paid for – without this crucial element, any reforms will be nothing more than a damp squib. The next step will be for the Government to appoint a Minister for Older People who can oversee these reforms, ensure a crisis of this magnitude is never repeated and drive a more strategic approach to dealing with demographic change.”

Anchor’s research suggests that the concerns about social care are indicative of a deeper problem in MPs’ attitudes to older people. Two-thirds of those aged 55 plus and 54% of the general population believe MPs ignore older people’s issues.

Narinder Singh, operations director at Anchor told AOL: “There isn’t a voice for older people on the cabinet. Older people make up 40% of voters but there is no one person at cabinet level championing the causes of older people. We don’t expect to see a new ministerial post, but it should be part of the portfolio of a minister. There are no easy solutions, but at least we can have those constructive debates about the funding gap.”