Sixty-one years after the NHS was founded, yesterday’s care green paper gives us the chance to develop the next frontier of the welfare state. Creating a national care service on a par with the NHS is what this country needs to meet the demands and expectations of our ageing population.
The government has recognised that we have to address the care implications of our ageing society. Filling the care gap is one of the biggest challenges we all face. We simply can’t do nothing and ignore the needs of this and future generations of older people.
Bold new proposals to end the postcode lottery in care and make paying for care fairer for everybody have been widely welcomed. The green paper, ‘Shaping the Future of Care Together’, presents radical long-term proposals to pay for the better care older people and their carers urgently need, particularly for the growing number of older people with dementia, disabilities and long-term conditions.
Counsel and Care favours the comprehensive care funding option – paying for care from people’s estates, for example, would be a much fairer option than the current system which means that many older people and their families lose their homes. People on lower incomes currently struggling under the burden of huge care costs would be better supported by the new system.
The proposals meet many of Counsel and Care’s tests for a new system which must be simpler, fairer, consistent, transparent and flexible, meeting the needs of older people wherever they live. We particularly welcome:
• the proposal for a National Care Service with a universal entitlement to care and national assessment and portability to end the postcode lottery
• much better provision of information, advice and advocacy to give older people and carers greater choice and control
• closer joint working between health, housing and care services to make the best use of resources
• the emphasis on promoting healthier later life, investing in prevention and supporting older people earlier through schemes like telecare to improve quality of life and save money
• support for better regulation, improved training and career development for the care workforce to deliver better quality care.
The care challenge is an issue for every citizen. We need a huge public debate and national consensus about the best way forward for all of us. How we share the risks and the rising costs of care must be debated in every family and every community as well as through the media. It is an issue that touches the lives of everyone in our society.
What can’t be ducked though is that care will cost us all more. So we need to find new ways to pay for the growing bill. Any new funding system must be fairer, simpler and transparent for all. A ‘care duty’ on people’s estates as a one-off payment to fund comprehensive care has the hallmarks of a better system.
Better care is key to building a better country for everyone. Economic success as well as meeting our collective social responsibilities will be determined by how well we support older people and their carers today and tomorrow.