Social Care Budgets (Debate)

Thu 28 Oct 2021, 15:26

I opened this week's Private Eye and found most of the answer to my question.  Questions are being raised about funding for the replacement "discharge to assess" scheme.  

Under the old system patients needing support of social care at home or a new care home placement could not be discharged from hospital until one was agreed and in place.  

When the pandemic struck, as we know, this rule was changed.  Elderly patients were immediately discharged from hospital with 4 weeks of funding from the NHS.  The Local Authority would then assess the ongoing need and put the care package in place with the elderly person picking up the bill or receiving part funding depending on their resources.  

I wrote to Mr Courts about this because elderly people with Covid were sent to care homes and this seemed callous, cruel and without compassion.  He wrote back such a long letter of rubbish that I'm afraid I threw it out.

So, this new scheme of immediate discharge needs to be funded by the NHS.  NHS England have warned that the fund made available for them to discharge people straight back to their homes will run out in March.  So the rushed increase in tax on working people and employers contributions to National Insurance was to fund this.

There is no more money for social care funding so take care everyone - don't expect it and you won't be disappointed.

Wed 27 Oct 2021, 13:48 (last edited on Wed 27 Oct 2021, 13:51)

Please can someone explain to me why the Government keeps talking about raising social care budgets.  Even to the point that it has increased tax to working people and employers to pay for it.

Social care is provided by private companies and charities.  Are they going to give tax funding to private companies and charities?   Thirty years ago local government used to run services to provide social care to private homes and used to run social care homes sometimes with nursing attached.  But that must be very rare now and it was funded through the Council Tax not income tax or national insurance.  

Local government still has to pay for some social care services for those of its residents who never got to be millionaires and whose capital and savings are at a threshold level.  Their financial support is means tested and you have to pay for it.  This has always meant selling your parents home to pay for their care.

The NHS does provide 6 weeks of nursing care for people leaving hospital who need short term nursing support at home.  Is this what they mean?  NHS nursing care is always free at the point of delivery.  But it's quite different from social care and it's funded separately.

Social care costs are really going to be hit.  Minimum wage increases for care workers, Brexit labour shortages and increased food bills, fuel costs to heat the homes and petrol for home social care services.  Costs will certainly need to increase significantly.  What does the Government mean when it says it is going to support the funding of social care?  I understood they had nothing to do with it.  Can anyone explain please?