How to cope with shrinking budgets and an ageing population
How to cope with shrinking budgets and an ageing population
The health and social care system is under immense pressure. The twin drivers of shrinking budgets and an ageing population with an increasing need for care are making these essential services unsustainable in the long term. We need to find new ways to deliver high quality care to those who most need our support.
Download the Full Report here.
Download the Executive Summary here.
Video Script:
All you hear in the papers is how there’s a funding crisis in the NHS or how local government is running out of money.
It’s a worry – mum’s going to need more support from the council very soon and I’m reaching the age when I’ll need to think about how I can stay independent. It’s the same for everyone my age. If things are going to get worse I need to know how this will affect us.
It hardly seems fair when London gets almost double what my council gets to spend even though I have to travel so far to see my doctor and there’s always such a queue.
Alongside the challenging funding situation, county areas have double the percentage of over 65s compared to London. Counties also tend to have complex health economies that make delivering essential services harder.
Despite this and their ageing populations, counties receive four times less funding per person over 75.
But surely the Government is doing something?
The Government’s Better Care Fund has pushed forward integration between health and social care. The Care Act will help embed a preventive approach across different services and there is already development of community-based services. But more needs to be done to overcome the barriers to integration.
If they don’t do more now, my mum won’t get the care she needs and the right services won’t be there to support me as I grow older.
Our report shows that while we don’t need a further top-down reorganisation or a full merging of services, we do we need any incoming Government to deliver a fairer funding settlement for counties, reform the Better Care Fund, overhaul the NHS tariff system and focus on workforce integration.
With the challenge so great, bottom up innovation must be allowed to flourish through Health & Social Care Deals, enabling counties to tailor services to local needs with devolved powers and funding.
Read the full report to find out how empowered counties can meet their care needs, now and in the future.
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