| SPOTLIGHT |
The acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation has said he is “deeply worried” about the impact cuts to local government budgets could have on the provision of social care, warning that this could cause serious problems for the NHS.
Nigel Edwards voiced concern at a growing trend for councils to only provide care for those in critical or substantial need.
“It seems inevitable that we will see a significant withdrawal of support from some of the most vulnerable people in our society - before long we could see a majority of councils only supplying services to those with the most critical of needs," he said.
“At a superficial level, this may ease pressure on the social care budget. But the needs of these vulnerable people and their families will not simply disappear - if needs are not met by social care, people will turn to the NHS.
“Some will present as emergencies in A&E departments and GP surgeries, others will find themselves trapped in hospital unable to get home, blocking the bed from someone else who badly needs it. Everybody loses: the users of services, those who care for them, the taxpayer and the NHS. It’s a classic false economy.”
Edwards said decisions on the long-term funding of social care were desperately needed, but feared that nothing would happen “until we are well into this parliament”.
Arguing that there is a strong case for an interim solution, he added: “Local and central government need to urgently work together to consider how they can mitigate the impact of this spending squeeze on some of the most vulnerable people in society.”
Speaking more generally about the challenges faced by the NHS, Edwards said: “The country faces very serious financial issues and everybody has to play a part in finding the solution – for that to happen there must be a frank and honest debate about implication of the decisions being taken.
“The public need to go into this with their eyes wide open. The NHS may have some limited protection to its budget but it still faces a potent cocktail of financial pressures.”
Edwards said the NHS faced funding increases that – while protected – would not deal with growing demand, one of the biggest reorganisation’s in the service’s history, and a pre-existing need to find between £15-20bn of savings.
The NHS Confederation acting chief executive warned that cutting management costs was only a small part of the answer.
He said: “We are already on course to cut management costs by a hefty 45% – quite a task during a major transition. Even this drastic action will save less just £0.85bn of the £20bn we need to find. So I am afraid that there are no pain-free choices if we are going to make this happen.”
