NHS plan will see funds allocated to social care, Health Secretary says

The forthcoming plan to fix the NHS will see funds allocated to social care, the Health Secretary has suggested.

Wes Streeting said spending NHS resources “more effectively though social care” will be better for patients and deliver better value for taxpayers.

At present, social care is most often paid for by councils, but thousands of people at any one time are stuck in NHS hospital beds even though they are fit to be discharged.

This is because of delays in arranging social care in local communities, finding spaces in care homes or difficulties in arranging other care.

At any one time, around one in seven hospital beds are taken up by people who could be cared for elsewhere.

Inadequate social care in the community also puts pressure on the NHS, such as through increasing hospital admissions and GP visits.

Speaking to the BBC’s Panorama programme, Mr Streeting suggested he will increase NHS spending on social care but did not say by how much.

He said: “I want to spend more of our resources through social care because it delivers better outcomes for patients and better value for taxpayers.

“So I’m convinced that we can spend NHS resources more effectively through social care.”

On the figures involved, he said: “Well, these sorts of discussions are always subject to spending reviews, but the 10 year plan for health will include elements of social care, because the two do have to go hand in hand together.”

Mr Streeting also repeated his belief that the NHS is “also not all about money”.

He said that “you can’t just keep on pouring ever increasing amounts of taxpayers’ money into a system that is not set up to deliver best use of that money and best care for patients and that’s why the system needs to change”.

The forthcoming 10 year plan for the NHS will focus on the “three shifts” the Government says are needed – moving NHS services towards more community-based care, preventing people getting ill in the first place and better use of digital technology.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) welcomed Mr Streeting’s comments and said a “properly funded social care system ” is needed rather than short-term bursts of investment.

The independent social care charity’s chief executive, Kathryn Smith, said: “We welcome the recognition from the Health and Social Care Secretary that investing in social care is key to improving outcomes for people and ensuring better value for taxpayers.

“Social care has long been an untapped resource in delivering prevention, reducing pressures on the NHS, and supporting people to live well in their communities. The forthcoming 10-year NHS plan and the Casey Commission provide vital opportunities to take a truly integrated approach — one that empowers social care alongside health services.

“To achieve meaningful reform, we must move beyond short-term funding shifts and towards a properly funded social care system which is fully recognised as a partner in delivering sustainable services.”

Professor Martin Green of Care England, representing providers in the adult social care sector, said he was “encouraged” by Mr Streeting’s comments which indicated he “understands that if we are going to get an integrated health and care system, there has to be much more transfer of money between health and social care”.

Prof Green added: “There is an opportunity for social care to make a huge contribution to delivering outcomes for citizens, and as the majority of citizens need social care because of every health issue, it is only right that the money allocated for health should be used in the most effective way possible, and that may well be in social care.”

The president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass), Melanie Williams, said Mr Streeting is “right to focus on investment in social care”.

She added: “Good care and support for people with complex health needs is the only way to reduce pressure on our hospitals and realise the Government’s aim to shift to more community support.

“The cost of social care is rising, more people will need this type of support as we all live longer and councils are currently facing a funding gap of more than one billion just to stand still, so we look forward to seeing further detail about social care investment in the 10-year health plan.”