Home / Health / Social Care 'Utter Shite': Tsar Demands Reckoning
Social Care 'Utter Shite': Tsar Demands Reckoning
5 Mar
Summary
- Social care is described as a broken system with inconsistent services.
- Breakthrough Alzheimer's drugs are deemed too expensive for NHS.
- MND patients face long waits for essential home care packages.
Baroness Louise Casey, leading an independent commission on adult social care, has called for a "moment of reckoning" regarding societal support for an aging and disabled population. She described the current social care system as "creaking, inconsistent and impenetrable," sometimes providing "utter shite" services.
Casey criticized the NHS for securing more funding than social care and questioned NICE's rejection of new Alzheimer's drugs, arguing that even small benefits can be significant for patients and their families. She also highlighted critical delays for Motor Neurone Disease patients needing home care, with waits exceeding a year for home modifications.
She urged for increased investment in dementia trials and the appointment of a dedicated government dementia tsar. The current system's funding discussions between the NHS and social care are described as confusing and anxiety-inducing. Labour faced criticism for scrapping a £86,000 lifetime cap on personal care costs.
Responding to Casey's remarks, The King's Fund emphasized the need for actionable recommendations for reform. The Department of Health and Social Care stated that the government is taking action, including establishing a National Safeguarding Board and accelerating dementia care transformation.
