The Government urgently needs to address the underfunding of adult social care to relieve pressure on A&E departments, says the Health Committee in its report on winter planning in A&E departments.
The MPs say that unless the shortfall in social care provision is addressed, people will continue to face avoidable admission and delayed discharge from hospital.
In addition, they say that it is an indictment of the existing state of adult social care provision that some acute trusts are having to establish domiciliary care services in order to improve ease pressure in their emergency departments:
“This only serves to underline the perilous state of adult social care in England and the fundamental inadequacy of provision in some parts of the country. The Government should undertake an urgent review of the state of adult social care and its impact upon the NHS and the most vulnerable individuals who depend upon both.
We recommend that the Government should provide additional funding to increase adult social care capacity. This could substantially relieve pressure on trusts as exit block is a key contributor to winter pressures in areas lacking sufficient adult social care provision
We believe that adult social care is underfunded and this is having an impact on the NHS. The performance of the NHS and social care cannot be viewed in isolation.
Adequate funding of social care and appropriate development of the social care workforce are worthy objectives in their own right, but the urgency of action on those two objectives is thrown into even sharper relief in the context of their contribution to the improved performance of the urgent and emergency care system.”
The Health Committee’s report Winter Pressure in Accident and Emergency Departments is available @ http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/health-committee/news-parliament-20151/accident-emergency-winter-planning-report-published-16-17/