Winter pressures
Winter pressures and future opportunities for social care providers
Ann Taylor, chair of the Kent Integrated Care Alliance (KiCA), explains why, instead of waiting passively for winter pressures to overwhelm the system, care providers must embrace innovation, seek partnership opportunities, and position social care as part of the solution
As we approach another winter, social care providers across Kent – and the UK as a whole – are preparing for an increasingly complex healthcare landscape. The months ahead have always brought
seasonal challenges – flu outbreaks, vomiting and sickness, COVID, increased hospital admissions, and heightened pressures on already stretched systems. But this year the stakes are even higher. The health and social care system is
undergoing one of its most significant structural overhauls in decades. The government’s plans to abolish NHS England and reabsorb many of its functions directly under the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) represent a radical shift. For local authorities and care providers, the ripple effects will be profound.
Alongside this restructuring, Integrated
Care Boards (ICBs) and provider trusts are being instructed to make severe cuts: ICBs face a 50 per cent reduction in running costs by Q3 2025/26, while trusts have been told to cut their corporate services budgets back to pre-pandemic levels. The question we must ask is: what does
this mean for social care providers on the ground this winter? And, perhaps more importantly, how can we find opportunities to innovate and collaborate despite the upheaval?
The restructuring: what we know The government’s shake-up of NHS England is driven by a desire to streamline and centralise decision-making. Currently, DHSC funds are distributed through two
primary channels: n NHS England – distributing money to ICBs and primary care providers.
n Local Authorities – responsible for local public health and social care allocations.
Under the proposed changes, some of NHS England’s responsibilities are likely to be devolved to regional bodies, while overall accountability shifts back to the DHSC. This sounds simple on paper, but the
reality is messy. Between NHS England and DHSC, there are over 18,000 staff roles, and headcount is expected to reduce by around 50 per cent. Savings from these cuts are projected to release approximately £500m. However, cuts mean uncertainty, which can have a destabilising effect on the current workforce and by default service delivery.
October 2025
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 23
Alex Stemmer -
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