The Public Accounts Committee yesterday launched its report on adult social care in England.
Imelda Redmond CBE, Director of Policy & Public Affairs for Marie Curie, said:
“This report highlights the fact that the need for social care is growing noticeably while government spending is declining. By 2030 the number of people dying will increase by 17%, with 50% of those being aged 85 and over. Such a substantial increase means that the need for social care in the years up to their death will rise considerably.
“Without access to good quality social care, terminally ill and dying people are far more likely to suffer emergency admissions to hospital, even though they may have no clinical need to be there. Underfunding for social care services will not, in the long run, save the government money but will instead put extra pressure on our already strained NHS.
“We welcome the report by the Public Accounts Committee as it shows that the ambitions set out in the Care Act must be followed by a rational and hard-headed debate about the allocation of funding in both the health and social care systems.”
-ENDS-
|