Social workers forced to “ration” care services to the needy
Ahead of this Wednesday’s white paper on adult care, an analysis of the views of more than a thousand social workers, carried out by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has revealed that care rationing and charging for previously free services is having a devastating impact on vulnerable adults.
Social workers told how they are now expected to be “debt collectors”, how vulnerable people have stopped attending day care services that they previously enjoyed because of new charges, and how the eligibility threshold for services is now “ludicrously high”.
The study of 1,100 social workers also found that it is not just older people who are facing higher bills and fewer services, but learning disabled people and those with mental health difficulties.
• 71% of social workers say eligibility criteria has been tightened to prevent needy people being able to receive services.
• 68% have seen an increase in charging for services that were previously free
The findings reveal that we have a current funding crisis as well as issues about the future funding of care which the Dilnot Commission was addressing and whose recommendations are being kicked into the long grass with no decisions until after the next election.
One social worker told BASW:
“Charging has been badly implemented, affecting the role and relationships with service users. Other departments seem to expect social workers to be debt collectors.”
Many members reported that any requests for funding for services have to now go to senior managers, which can be very difficult, with one social worker saying:
“Services authorised at senior level are now experienced as almost extremely adversarial, sometimes abusive, patronising and frightening. Social workers are afraid to ask for funding of care packages related to high risk and high needs.”
Commenting on the findings, BASW England Manager Ruth Cartwright said: “These findings indicate the extent of the current challenge facing adult care as the cuts bite. Whether it is mental health service users, people with learning disabilities or vulnerable older people, services are being slashed, new charges introduced and thresholds being raised, leaving overstretched social workers and social care colleagues struggling to meet people’s urgent needs. We are already seeing this having a knock-on effect on the NHS.
“We are hoping the white paper will have many positive elements, that it will address the confusing tangle of legislation which surrounds adult social care and ensure greater fairness and consistency of eligibility and assessment of need across England, and that it will free social workers and others to engage with communities to carry out the preventive work and early intervention which means people’s situations do not deteriorate to crisis level with all the distress and expense that entails. We hope it will point up the key roles of social workers in personalisation and safeguarding. We believe it will espouse promotion of independence and wellbeing, which is entirely within the ethos of social work.
“However, ways of finding sufficient funding to meet present levels of needs and to implement these new ways of working must be found or the document will not be worth the paper it is written on.”
What social workers told BASW
“People who have received respite care for 8 weeks a year for many years have now had that slashed, or completely stopped, due to the eligibility criteria.”
“Very little preventative work is now done, mostly crisis and duty work.”
“Charges have been introduced for day care for people suffering mental health problems – causing people to cut back or stop attending the centre.”
“Day centre services which were a very popular with service users and carers have been cut and not adequately replaced.”
“Charging policy is excluding some service users from services, due to their inability to manage their own finances.”
“Eligibility criteria is already ludicrously high, so those who are not eligible are referred back to GPs.”
