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NEWS


ANNOUNCEMENT OF SOCIAL CARE


SUPPORT GRANT On December 15th the Secretary for State for Community and Local Government, Sajid Javid, announced a £240million Social Care Support grant.


The grant was achieved through savings from New Homes Bonus that will contribute toward adult care costs.


The social care crisis is a long-term problem, with demand outstripping resources and the funding gap projected to reach £2.5 billion by 2020.


200 mile trip to make sure her mum gets a hot meal, to the 82 year old lady hospitalised with a urinary tract infection because she stopped getting support to have a shower each day.


“However, this is a national crisis that needs national leadership. Today marks the first signs that the government are beginning to take social care seriously and address the


ORGANISATIONS URGE PRIME MINISTER TO TACKLE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE


FUNDING CRISIS 75 organisations have called on Theresa May to tackle the health and social care funding crisis by beginning a cross-party process and find a long-term solution.


Dementia is now the biggest killer with numbers of people living with dementia set to soar to 1million by 2021. 70% of those living in care homes and 60% of homecare users have dementia.


Alzheimer’s Society predicts that the number of people with dementia living in care homes will increase to 358,000 by 2020, with associated costs reaching £4.9 billion.


Commenting on the support grant, Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “For a system as starved as social care, a funding boost in any form is desperately needed. Time and again, people with dementia and their families are bearing the brunt of the crisis. From the devoted daughter making a


twitter.com/TomorrowsCare


Independent Age, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Care England, Patients Association, Royal College of GPs, Royal College of Nursing, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE), Leonard Cheshire Disability, Marie Curie and RNIB are just a few of the organisations who have signed the open letter to the Prime Minister.


The letter warns that ‘2017 simply cannot be another year where these huge issues are ducked’ and states the Prime Minister must adopt a ‘ bolder approach’ to prevent millions of older, ill and disabled people and their carers being let down by the system.


The plea follows calls from three Select Committee Chairs, Sarah Wollaston MP (Health Committee), Meg Hillier MP (Public Accounts Committee) and Clive Betts MP (Communities and Local Government Committee) for a cross-party agreement on health and social care funding.


fundamental disconnect between what care costs, and the amount councils have available to spend on it. The long term challenges posed by the growing numbers of people with dementia needing care will not be solved by a short-term fix. We need a fair settlement which does not leave the 850,000 people with dementia worried about their care and their future.”


The letter states that the cross- party process must recommend clear actions that have the support of all parties, and will make a difference, as well as to find a sustainable solution to the problems in health and social care funding and have the political will behind it to deliver meaningful change.


Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, the older people’s charity, said: “We have heard many times that there needs to be a long-term solution on health and social care, yet we have heard no details from Government as to what that solution may be. The failure of successive governments to act on this issue means that many of the most vulnerable people in society cannot get the care and support they need.”


Norman Lamb MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on health and social care, said: “The health and social care system in England is facing unprecedented challenges. Failing to find a solution to this crisis puts some of the most vulnerable people at risk – frail and elderly people in need of care services, disabled people who need support and people with long-term illnesses.


“Building a sustainable health and care system that can provide the kind of high-quality care people expect can’t be realised without putting aside party political point-scoring.


“That is why I’m supporting this call by Independent Age and a coalition of organisations across the health and care sector and I’m launching a cross-party group of MPs that will campaign specifically for agreement on health and social care funding.”


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