Almost 40,000 people wait for care and support as care providers cannot sustain services
A new survey has found that waiting lists for care and support assessments in England grows by six hundred people per day, as care providers simply do not have the staff that they need to sustain services.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) recent survey, reveals that almost 300,000 people are now waiting for an assessment of their needs by social workers, an increase of 44 per cent in five months. Statistics also show that a quarter of people on the list has been waiting longer than six months.
At this rate of increase, the number waiting will hit 400,000 by November, which is double the total 12 months previously.
The latest figures have emerged from a count carried out by ADASS through its members in local councils across England. The results are extrapolated from responses from 83 councils, where 55 per cent of the authorities displayed concern.
On the count date of 30 April 2022, a total 294,449 people were awaiting the first assessment of their care and support needs, of whom 73,792 had been waiting more than six months.
A further 37,447 people who had been assessed as needing a service were waiting for it to begin or to arrange their first direct payment for themselves. In addition, 210,106 people receiving a service or payment were overdue for a review under the terms of the Care Act.
In all, 542,002 people were awaiting an assessment, review or the start of a service, or direct payment – an increase of 37 per cent on an equivalent count in November last year.
The figures come just a week after ADASS published its comprehensive annual Spring Survey of its members and warned that people working in adult social care and those who rely upon it were facing the most challenging winter they had ever faced.
Sarah McClinton, ADASS President, said: “These new findings confirm our worst fears for adult social care. The picture is deteriorating rapidly and people in need of care and support to enable them to live full and independent lives are being left in uncertainty, dependency and pain.”
The ADASS Spring Survey found that most councils were facing rises in numbers of people seeking support.
In addition, 82 per cent of councils were dealing with increased numbers of referrals of people from hospitals, and 74 per cent were reporting more referrals or requests for support from the community.
Cathie Williams, ADASS Chief Executive, said: “Contrary to claims, social care is not being fixed and we need decisive action and funding now to get us through the months ahead and to start to build the foundations of the reformed system that we all want to see.”
Almost seven in 10 ADASS members surveyed said that care providers in their area had closed or handed back contracts. Many more said they could not meet all needs for care and support because of providers’ inability to recruit and retain staff.
Recently, a snap survey of the state of social care services by ADASS revealed the rapidly deteriorating picture of hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people left waiting for help.
