Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Social care in crisis
The paper says that Ramzi Suleiman, policy and public affairs manager at the Carers Trust, has issued a stark warning to the government, arguing that the sector is “nowhere near ready for this rise in older people” as it is “already creaking at the seams”:
Projections from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that, by mid-2047, the number of over-85 will have nearly doubled to 3.3 million, representing 4.3 per cent of the total UK population. This is an increase from 1.7 million in mid-2022, when they made up 2.5 per cent of the population.
The rise comes partly because of the larger numbers of people born in the 1960s, who would be aged over-80 in 2047, as well as general increases in life expectancy, the ONS said.
The warnings came after the government confirmed earlier this month that major social care reforms would not be delivered until 2028, with an independent commission chaired by Baroness Louise Casey launching in spring.
They quote Alison Bennett, the Liberal Democrats care spokesperson, as warning that the government’s “dither and delay on social care will only make matters worse”:
“Across the country we are already seeing thousands of people, who are well enough to be discharged, stuck in hospital beds and unable to leave because social care simply doesn’t exist”, she told The Independent. “These figures show in stark relief that the longer they ignore the crisis, the more social care costs will crush council budgets and lead to unnecessary suffering for individuals.
“That’s why we need the social care commission to be done and dusted within a year at most, it is more pressing than ever. We can then finally move on with implementing much-needed reforms after too many years of inaction.”
This is not something that can be kicked into the long grass by yet another commission, nor can the government hope to get to grips with the health service without sorting out social care. This is already a crisis, and without action it will only get worse.
