social care Age Scotland delayThe Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England looking at the quality of care in England for the period 2020/21.

Unless “increased stability” in social care and “real collaboration across health and social care” are achieved, the report warns, there is a risk of a “tsunami of unmet need”.

The CQC also warned that in the approach to winter, the workforce who face the challenges ahead are drained in terms of both resilience and capacity, which has the potential to impact on the quality of care they deliver.

It said: “Staffing pressures are being felt across all health and care settings. However, the impact is being seen most acutely in adult social care, where providers are competing for staff with the retail and hospitality industries.

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“Increased stability in social care is the key to unlocking not only improved access and quality of care for the people who use it, but to easing pressure on the NHS by reducing emergency attendances and enabling people to leave hospital in a timely way.”

Responding to the Care Quality Commission’s annual State of Care report, Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said:

“Today’s CQC report is further proof of the urgent need to invest in the NHS and social care workforce – or see many more people go without the care and treatment they need as services struggle to meet demand and address the backlogs created by the pandemic.

“The CQC highlights how the pandemic has left health and care staff stressed, overstretched and exhausted.

“Increases in vacancy rates are already affecting access to high-quality care, particularly in social care and other services that support some of the most vulnerable in our society.

“This winter is set to test the health and care system like no other. Expecting health and care staff to keep going above and beyond, under the most intense pressure, is simply not sustainable.

“Even before COVID-19, a decade of underfunding and understaffing had undermined the resilience of the NHS and led social care to the brink.

“With demand for services expected to increase, the health and social care workforce may need to grow by as many as a million staff by 2030/31. This includes a 40 per cent increase in the health care workforce, more than double the growth for the NHS over the last decade.

“The forthcoming spending review is an opportunity to drive long overdue action on workforce planning and supply. The government needs to invest in the training, recruitment and retention of NHS staff, while finding the extra funding needed to ensure more people can access high-quality social care.

“This will only be delivered if the sector can offer the pay, terms and conditions that enable staff recruitment and retention.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the obstacles facing social care. A recent report by Tunstall Healthcare revealed that over many years the savings made through underfunding of social care has led to significant extra costs in responses further down the line.

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https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/social-care-in-the-frame.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/social-care-in-the-frame-150x150.jpgLiane McIvorNewsroomNHSReports & ResearchSector NewsThird SectorCare Quality Commission,elderly,Health Foundation,NHS,vulnerable,winterThe Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England looking at the quality of care in England for the period 2020/21. Unless “increased stability” in social care and 'real collaboration across health and social care' are achieved, the report...News, views & products for mobility, access and independent living professionals