Call for national system to assess people's social care needs

A new report by The King’s Fund think-tank has proposed moving to a national system for assessing people’s social care needs such as in Australia, Germany and Japan.

© National Cancer Institute/Unsplash

© National Cancer Institute/Unsplash

The report says moving from the current system where each local authority assesses people's needs and finances to a national model could provide greater consistency and limit the risk of care being rationed due to budgetary constraints.

Simon Bottery, senior fellow, The King's Fund and author of Fixing social care: the six key problems and how to tackle them, said: ‘It would be a major change to shift away from the principle that people's social care needs and finances should be assessed by local authorities. However, it works well in other countries and now is the time to explore whether it would be an improvement here as well.'

The report calls for more people to be entitled to publicly funded social care through making the current means-tested system more generous and by introducing a cap on care costs as the ‘very minimum'. It says alternative measures such as free personal care in Scotland or a social insurance system such as Germany should also be commissioned by the Government's Casey Commission on reform.

The think-tank adds the cost of providing care should be more of a partnership between the individual and the state and welcomes the Government's £500m Fair Pay Agreement as a first step to a long-term solution.

The King's Fund also argues it is not sustainable for social care providers to face cost rise above fee increases from local authorities and calls for a review of NHS continuing healthcare.

Baroness Casey's Independent Commission into adult social care will deliver its first recommendations next year.

Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor, chair of the LGA's Health and Wellbeing Committee, said: ‘Previous attempts at social care reform have fallen at the first hurdle or only delivered incremental recommendations. The LGA supports The King's Fund ambition to be bold and radical in exploring potential solutions, including looking at how social care assessments are completed.

‘However, experience from other national assessment processes, such as those in the NHS and welfare, has shown they are not a guaranteed fix for tackling variation in care at a local level, and that human subjectivity exists both nationally and locally.

‘There is real value in social care assessments being conducted locally, where professionals have a strong understanding of the local context, the services available and how best to meet the individual needs of their residents. Addressing the issue of variation requires consideration of how national guidance and the national eligibility framework could be strengthened and improved.

 

‘If we are to be able to ensure everyone who draws on care and support can live the dignified and independent lives they want to lead, we need a financially sustainable system rooted in prevention and personalised care.'

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Baroness Louise Casey is working on the independent commission into adult social care to build consensus for a National Care Service that is fair and affordable for all - and will look at how best to meet the current and future needs of the population.

‘This includes speaking with experts, charities, the sector and people drawing on care to inform her recommendations.

‘But we know the sector needs urgent support, which is why we are providing a funding boost of more than £4bn, delivered the biggest uplift to the Carer's Allowance threshold since the 1970s, investing an additional £172m in the Disabled Facilities Grant, and have launched the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care workers.'

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