In many instances I do agree with this report, especially of the low pay of care workers and the lack of effective travel pay to cover all expenses as while distance could be covered, time may not be. In some instances the timing between caring for one person and the time needed to get to another, is virtually impossible to do, especially where traffic conditions are far from good.
Yes, some care providers could do much more for the care workers they employ, but as their funding comes mainly from Local Authorities (LAs) and a fair proportion of LAs funding comes through the Government grants to LAs, which has been considerably reducing in real terms since 2010 due to the Tory imposed Austerity Cuts. But, in effect was social care really correctly funded before 2010, I feel not as social care has never been sufficiently funded.
A great mistake was not to include social care within the NHS in 1948 and with hindsight this should have occurred, then there wouldn’t have been to ‘toing and froing’ between LAs and Continuing Health Care (CHC) as to who should fund what and the duplicity of some work would also have been mitigated. This would also have dealt with the discrimination in which conditions are health and which are social care and the ways they are looked at, especially how funded. i.e. will a person be contributing or not.
Not saying that the funding would have improved greatly as the NHS has also been seriously underfunded to some extent over the years.
What does need to be done is to greatly improve the pay rate for all care workers and I would say at least £15 per hour as this would encourage more to enter the care profession. But also allow more immigration so many non-UK persons can come to the UK to also enter the care profession. In doing so also improve the travel expenses and other working terms and conditions, such as recognised holiday pay, sick pay and others.
All are needed as for some times many persons in need of social care have not been receiving any or if some, nowhere near the required amounts. Demand for social care is forever increasing while in real terms the funding has been reducing. Much of this lack of social care has been taken on by family carers well past when their own health has deteriorated, in which case this again increases the demand and need for social care and eventually much more care within the NHS.
This Government and all future Government have to listen and take this on board as no Government has done previously, if at all, for not to do so will not just be the demise of Social Care, but also the NHS.
The start of this has been happening for years, but now it is much more evident, but still this Government is not listening, is it because they are failing to see the problem or, more likely no wish to see the problem.
Carer Voice 