Oxfordshire nursing lecturer highlights patients impacted by overstretched social care
An overstretched social care system is causing some people to end up in A&E, according to Oxfordshire nursing lecturer
A nursing lecturer at Oxford Brookes University is telling us how patients are being impacted by an overstretched social care system, causing some people to end up in A&E.
It’s as a new analysis today claims that a minimum of £3.4 billion will be required to meet the growing need for social care and avoid further decline.
Sally Bassett is a senior lecturer at Oxford Brooks and a South East RCN Council member.
She said: “When you add one more person to somebody's caseload, you're basically just creating a waiting list and there are only so many hours in the day, and only so many nurses.
“So, if you add one more person, it basically means somebody else is dropping to the bottom of the list, and you might not get to them that day, then you might not get to them to the next day.”
She added: "It's the people that you don't get to see that obviously worry you the most, and that burden then can often fall onto families, who are in crisis and under pressure as well.
“Often, you will see is people pitching up in A&E, or indeed even worse, not asking for help.”
Ms Bassett also says nurses are “committed to do the very best that best that we can”.
The Health Foundation is calling on the Government to "signal its commitment" ahead of the upcoming spending review.
They say, £3.4 billion is the minimum amount needed to cover rising costs to employers by 2028/29.
The analysis claims this could rise to £9.1 billion by 2034/35.
Elsewhere, £8.7 billion would help meet demand, cover rising costs, improve access and boost pay by 2028/29, rising to £15.4 billion by 2034/35.
Hugh Alderwick, director of policy at the Health Foundation, said: "Decades of political neglect mean the social care system is a threadbare safety-net, with too many people falling through the gaps.
"The spending review is a chance for the Government to signal its commitment to improving social care by providing a down payment on the investment needed for reform. This would help people get the support they need, ease the burden on unpaid carers, provide a fair wage to care workers and support the NHS."
The analysis comes days after the formal launch of the Casey Commission, which will aim to transform social care.
The second phase of the commission, setting out longer-term reforms, is due to report by 2028.
Mr Alderwick added: “We encourage the commission to bring forward proposals for reform as soon as possible."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This Government inherited a social care system facing significant challenges, but we are turning this around through our Plan for Change, building a National Care Service that is fair and affordable for all.
"This analysis does not reflect the extra £3.7 billion we have made available this year to improve services.
"Baroness Casey has started her work on the independent commission into adult social care to build cross-party consensus and will publish her first recommendations for reform next year."