interviews

24.10.18

How can winter pressures be dealt with? Introduce a National Social Care Service, RCP president suggests

A dedicated national social care service could be a potential solution to surging demand burdening acute health providers over the winter months, the new president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has suggested.

In an interview with NHE, Professor Andrew Goddard said that the general public “does not really understand” the inner-workings and benefits of the social care sector— despite 1.5 million care staff members working in the UK currently, and 85,000 providers of social care across the country.

On Monday a new report by NHS Providers noted that there are “clear warning signs” that the demand in the coming winter will be even worse for NHS trusts than last year, where many believed the influx in patients made it the most difficult winter on record.

Last week the RCP, alongside several other health faculties and royal colleges, addressed a letter to Philip Hammond, calling on the chancellor to use the autumn budget to invest long-term in adult social car and health services, or “risk the NHS failing to meet demands.”

Prof Goddard noted that social care is the most worrying issue on doctors’ minds currently: “The thing that most doctors are worried about is social care—there was a survey I saw presented at a conference a couple of weeks ago, and 40% of acute medicine consultants’ biggest worry was social care.

“Not having the capacity in social care to get patients out of hospital, which is a really risky environment—hospitals are not good places to be if you don’t need to be there—is one of our big challenges.

“If you talk to the emergency medicine guys, they would say if you could sort out social care then that would make their lives so much easier because it changes the flow in hospitals dramatically.

“One of the solutions to winter is much, much better social care—we tend to focus on hospitals because we can see the hospitals queuing outside, and you don’t really see ambulances queuing up outside nursing homes—it’s not quite as good a picture on the front page of the patients—but perhaps we ought to do that and focus on nursing home care.”

Prof Goddard added that the NHS has a much-beloved identity in the UK, but the general public does not always feel the same way about social care. He suggested that a dedicated social care service would help both promote the value of social care in the general public and also relieve the burden on acute care wards.

“The NHS has an identity doesn’t it, everybody says that the public loves the NHS, but people don’t really love social care in the same way,” said the RCP president, who took over from Professor Dam Jane Dacre last month.

“If there was a national social care service then that might help. There’s a such a wider disparate group. I think the public doesn’t really understand social care—it’s means tested of course, it’s not free at the point of entry, so there are challenges there.

“A national social care service would probably be a good idea. Other nations have tried to bring social care and their health service closer together, I think that’s the idea that’s been proposed with Sustainability Transformation Plans, and certainly the college and I support the move towards that. How you get a higher profile for social care and more support, that’s a challenge of our generation.”

Last week a report by the Public Accounts Committee noted that the government is still “a long way” from achieving an effective strategy for integrated health and social care.

Enjoying NHE? Subscribe here to receive our weekly news updates or click here to receive a copy of the magazine!

Image credit: RCP

Comments

There are no comments. Why not be the first?

Add your comment

national health executive tv

more videos >

latest healthcare news

NHS England commits £30m to join up HR and staff rostering systems

09/09/2020NHS England commits £30m to join up HR and staff rostering systems

As NHS England looks to support new ways of working, it has launched a £30m contract tender for HR and staff rostering systems, seeking sup... more >
Gender equality in NHS leadership requires further progress

09/09/2020Gender equality in NHS leadership requires further progress

New research carried out by the University of Exeter, on behalf of NHS Confederation, has shown that more progress is still needed to achieve gen... more >
NHS Trust set for big savings in shift to digital patient letters

09/09/2020NHS Trust set for big savings in shift to digital patient letters

Up and down the country, NHS trusts are finding new and innovative ways to leverage the power of digital technologies. In Bradford, paper appoint... more >

the scalpel's daily blog

Covid-19 can signal a new deal with the public on health

28/08/2020Covid-19 can signal a new deal with the public on health

Danny Mortimer, Chief Executive, NHS Employers & Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Confederation The common enemy of coronavirus united the public side by side with the NHS in a way that many had not seen in their lifetimes and for others evoked war-time memories. It was an image of defiance personified by the unforgettable N... more >
read more blog posts from 'the scalpel' >

comment

NHS England dementia director prescribes rugby for mental health and dementia patients

23/09/2019NHS England dementia director prescribes rugby for mental health and dementia patients

Reason to celebrate as NHS says watching rugby can be good for your mental health and wellbeing. As the best rugby players in the world repr... more >
Peter Kyle MP: It’s time to say thank you this Public Service Day

21/06/2019Peter Kyle MP: It’s time to say thank you this Public Service Day

Taking time to say thank you is one of the hidden pillars of a society. Being on the receiving end of some “thanks” can make communit... more >
Nurses named as least-appreciated public sector workers

13/06/2019Nurses named as least-appreciated public sector workers

Nurses have been named as the most under-appreciated public sector professionals as new research reveals how shockingly under-vauled our NHS, edu... more >
Creating the Cardigan integrated care centre

10/06/2019Creating the Cardigan integrated care centre

Peter Skitt, county director and commissioner for Ceredigion Hywel Dda University Health Board, looks ahead to the new integrated care centre bei... more >

last word

Haseeb Ahmad: ‘We all have a role to play in getting innovations quicker’

Haseeb Ahmad: ‘We all have a role to play in getting innovations quicker’

Haseeb Ahmad, president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), sits down with National Health Executive as part of our... more > more last word articles >

editor's comment

26/06/2020Adapting and Innovating

Matt Roberts, National Health Executive Editorial Lead. NHE May/June 2020 Edition We’ve been through so much as a health sector and a society in recent months with coronavirus and nothing can take away from the loss and difficulties that we’ve faced but it vital we also don’t disregard the amazing efforts we’v... read more >

health service focus

‘We are the NHS’: NHS England publish newest People Plan

30/07/2020‘We are the NHS’: NHS England publish newest People Plan

NHS England has published its People Plan for... more >
How NHS Property Services adapted to a new way of working

01/07/2020How NHS Property Services adapted to a new way of working

From May/June 2020 edition Trish Stephen... more >