Below is a selection of official responses to the Green Paper on the future of adult social care in England that was published on 14 July. To read Cheselden’s official response, click here. [link to response in Media section]
Social and health care sector responses
‘The NHS is responsible for funding the nursing care of patients who have health needs, regardless of whether they are in hospital, a care home or their own home. We would fiercely oppose a system where responsibility for meeting the costs of nursing care was shifted onto the patient and subject to means-testing when it should be free on the NHS.’
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing
‘Sharing the financial responsibility is the only way that good social care can be afforded. The case for change has been made and we must all respond to the green paper because there are huge implications. This is a long-term issue; it’s about what happens over the next quarter century and it also affects the NHS, housing and benefits.’
Allan Bowman, chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence
‘The green paper, we hope, points the way towards ending a system in which people find it hard to understand what they are entitled to and what financial contribution they will have to pay towards the cost of their care. Any new system which emerges must be open, transparent about costs and what people can expect to pay and are entitled to receive wherever they live. And it must enhance the continued transformation of social care in a way which helps individuals take greater control of their lives, and care budget.’
Jenny Owen, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
‘The current system of care is unsustainable in the future and even today has woeful inadequacies… There has been chronic under funding of care services for decades. The sector can rarely put into place the improvements it wants and its customers will expect. A National Care Service in England must also go hand in hand with improvements in quality of care. We urge people to respond to this green paper and to highlight that any new system must drive up quality if it is to command the confidence of citizens.’
Professor Jill Manthorpe, director of the social care workforce research unit at King’s College, London
Charity responses
‘Creating a national care service on a par with the NHS is just what this country needs to meet the demands and expectations of our ageing population. Filling the care gap is one of the biggest challenges we all face. We simply can’t do nothing and ignore the needs of this and future generations of older people…Any new funding system must be fairer, simpler and transparent for all. A ‘care duty’ on people’s estates as a one-off payment to fund comprehensive care has the hallmarks of a better system. Better care is key to building a better country for everyone.’
Stephen Burke, chief executive of Counsel + Care
‘What we need to do now is to test these ideas with the public and importantly, with families – disabled and older people and the people caring for them. They need to tell us what they think will work. It is time for the public to make their views heard in this big care debate. We must make this one of the most important policies of the decade since it touches so many people’s lives.’
Imelda Redmond, chief executive of Carers UK
‘High quality care must be available to all who need it regardless of where they live and whether they are rich or poor. With time now short, the government must set out a clear timetable to move from debating options to agreeing and implementing specific proposals.’
Michelle Mitchell, director of Age Concern and Help the Aged
‘Today the Big Care Debate begins on three new models of funding social care, an essential lifeline for millions of people. Only a system that delivers good care at a fair price will succeed. Currently, if you are unfortunate enough to be amongst the one in three people over 65 who die with dementia you could face enormous bills for poor quality care. This is a gamble people shouldn’t be forced to take…A national care service is a bold vision and it will take courage to see it through. It cannot afford to fail.’
Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society
posted by Cheselden Continuing Care at
12:48
