Social care plan neglects staffing crisis as MPs snub Commons statement – The Yorkshire Post says

Proof that there are no simple solutions to a long-neglected generational issue, the People at the Heart of Care strategy follows the introduction of a new NHS and care levy in September.

But what was perplexing was the absence of the overwhelming majority of MPs – barely two dozen out of 650 MPs appeared visible – for the statement and then to challenge Care Minister Gillian Keegan on the merit of the new policies.

For the Minister’s good intentions could not hide the fact that the Government is still bereft on ideas on how to tackle the staffing crisis so the elderly and vulnerable can receive dignified care commensurate with their health needs. After all, half a million new carers need to be recruited by 2030 just to keep up with the current requirements of an ageing society. Ms Keegan, in response to her Labour critics, says calling for “things” is much harder than delivering reforms, but this escapes the fact that more than 40,000 social care staff have left the sector over the last six months – their goodwill had reached breaking point.

The question is why? For, until Ministers are inclined to understand why such workers, people who have chosen a career in care because of their compassion for others, are leaving in such numbers, it will be harder to put measures in place to reverse this trend.

And it was telling that Jeremy Hunt, the former Health and Social Care Secretary, concluded that there was insufficient new money to support the workforce – and that the reforms would not ease the burden on the NHS.

As such, this white paper should be reviewed as a start – little more – and it will only improve if MPs begin to engage with the issue rather than turn their collective backs on the care sector at this critical time.

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