United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) welcomes today’s news that the Prime Minister intends to make good on his promise to fix social care. We are encouraged that the government expects to bring forward plans for reform and funding of social care next week.
All of us want to live well at home and flourish in our communities.
We want home-based and community support recognised as a vital contributor to promoting well-being and increasing healthy life expectancy.
Reform should not be focused solely on avoiding sale of houses to pay for care homes, though this is important for some.
We need investment in meeting people’s needs and helping us all to live well at home.
Key to this is investing in our homecare workforce, ensuring they are well-trained and fairly rewarded for their skill and experience.
We also need investment in innovation.
The government needs to have an honest conversation with the electorate about how our health and care needs can be met now and in the future. This is a high priority for everyone, and we are clearly not coping at present. In 30 years’ time, projections suggest the number of older and disabled people will more than double.
Health and social care affects us all and we all need to accept responsibility, pool risk and share the costs, so we can all share the benefits.
