Small allocations of funding and placing blame on social care are not the solution to tackling delays in discharging patients from hospitals, according to local government leaders.
The LGA, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, and Solace, the membership network for local authority chief executives, have jointly written to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay asking the Government to engage urgently with councils and care sector partners to address the current delays in hospital discharges.
The letter highlights how crucial it is to end the narrative of social care being blamed for discharge delays when it is not the primary reason for delay in the majority of cases. Much of the recent narrative on social care suggests that it exists solely to ease pressure on the NHS and is failing to do its job.
However, social care is an essential service in its own right and needs to be valued equally as highly as the NHS, says the letter.
Many people rely on social care to support them to live independent and fulfilling lives, and the continual focus on supporting the NHS – important though it is – places these vital services at risk.
Current pressures can only be addressed by collaborative working in every area between councils, the NHS and wider health and care providers, and a range of measures across systems.
The letter urges more engagement, saying councils must be included in discussions if workable solutions are to be found.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “A decade of consistent underfunding of social care and underinvestment in community health services has led us into this crisis, and it will not be fixed through tacked-on funding that fails to address any of the root causes of this situation.
“We have consistently said that £13 billion is needed for social care so that its many pressures can be addressed, and councils can deliver on all of their statutory duties.
“This is the level of investment needed to ensure people of all ages can live an equal life and reduce the need for hospital treatment in the first place.”