Care for the elderly is 'on its knees' and overdue reforms may not bring the changes needed, MPs warn

Overdue reforms to aged attraction whitethorn not bring nan changes nan assemblage 'desperately' needs, MPs pass today.

The Public Accounts Committee says changes to nan strategy person been scaled backmost and a caller charging strategy delayed while backing for some has been diverted.

At nan aforesaid time, waiting lists are rising, municipality hallway budgets are nether pressure, and nan assemblage is still struggling pinch 150,000 occupation vacancies.

The MPs impeach nan Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of not providing nan activity required to tackle nan problems, informing it grounded to group retired a way to achieving nan ambitions established much than 2 years ago.

Committee president Dame Meg Hillier said: 'Years of fragmented backing and nan absence of a clear roadmap has brought nan big societal attraction assemblage to its knees. 

'Waiting lists are rising, nan assemblage is short tens of thousands of basal staff, and section authority finances are being placed nether an unsustainable magnitude of pressure.

'Whilst we invited nan summation successful funding, we fearfulness this will do small to reside nan cardinal challenges faced by nan assemblage successful nan absence of a well-funded multi-year strategy. 

'A 10-year imagination is each good and good, but this unsocial is not capable to bring astir nan basal changes this assemblage truthful desperately needs.'

The committee says it is 'deeply sceptical' astir nan Government's extremity of integrating wellness - tally by nan NHS - pinch nan societal attraction strategy tally by section authorities.

It is besides 'unconvinced' if nan DHSC knows if it is getting worth for money from an other £1.6bn spent connected getting patients retired of infirmary beds much quickly and a £1.1bn assistance to councils.

The MPs raise concerns that nan money for municipality halls, intended to summation carers' salary and trim waiting times for aged people, whitethorn beryllium 'simply going into supplier profits'.

A last-minute £500m bailout for councils is invited but 'may beryllium excessively little, excessively precocious to person a demonstrable impact'.

The study besides says nan DHSC's 2021 achromatic insubstantial is 'woefully insufficient' successful tackling nan workforce crisis, while a caller crackdown connected visas for attraction workers raises 'significant questions' astir its reliance connected overseas staff.

It concludes: 'With charging betterment postponed, strategy betterment scaled backmost and constricted advancement from nan Department moreover connected its reduced ambition for strategy reform, we cannot thief but beryllium sceptical arsenic to whether nan imagination is still achievable.'

The DHSC insisted past night: 'We are committed to reforming big societal attraction and person invested up to an further £8.6 cardinal complete 2 years to meet nan pressures facing nan sector, turn nan workforce and amended infirmary discharge.

'The study rightly acknowledges advancement to boost attraction workers' profession progression and training to amended retention, including done a caller accredited qualification.

'To thrust guardant our imagination for reform, we are besides investing up to £700 cardinal connected a awesome translator of nan big societal attraction system, which includes investing successful exertion and adapting people's homes to let them to unrecorded independently.'