The National Care Forum (NCF), association for not-for-profit social care, has responded to the publication of the Care Quality Commission’s report on the state of health care and adult social care in England for 2024/25.
The report paints a worrying but not unfamiliar picture of a sector struggling to meet people’s needs in a timely and comprehensive way; it highlights the huge pressures that the sector is facing including a stretched workforce, financial instability, disjointed health and care services and growing demand and unmet need. It echoes the analysis Skills for Care detailed in its latest state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report which shows a system still struggling to recruit and retain the sustainable domestic workforce needed to meet the current and future demands of an ageing population alongside an increasing number of adults with complex care and support needs.
The report also flags inequalities and concerns for specific groups of people. Older people, people with dementia, autistic people, people with a learning disability, and people with complex mental health needs, are struggling to navigate the system or find services that can support them, and their loved ones.
Vic Rayner, CEO of NCF, commented: “This year’s report contains no major surprises in that it identifies that considerable pressure remains in the system. What we said in response to last year’s report unfortunately still stands. If the government is serious about its three-fold shift to prevention, it must ensure investment reaches the community care and support services that people need to live well. When resourced and organised properly, care and support enables people to live the lives they want, supports them to access wider
community and health services at an earlier stage and helps them retain their independence for longer in strong communities – this ultimately reduces demand on acute services.
“What should be of major concern to policymakers is the increasing fragility of care and support services, particularly those providing services for working-age adults where demand has increased markedly over the last four years, but largely without the resources to meet this.
“We urge government to take note of the warnings contained in this report. The adult social care system needs a strong infrastructure to ensure it is able to support people, and providers alone can’t fix that. It will need local government and NHS commissioners to play their part as well in changing the way we do things. These are lessons that must be taken on board by the Casey Commission as it lays out a vision for what a National Care Service might look like. We need to ensure that commissioners and providers alike are supported and resourced to work together to provide the care and support people need and want.”
