Some 600 people a day are joining growing waiting lists to be assessed for care and support in England, a survey of members of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has found.
Almost 300,000 people are now waiting for an assessment of their needs by social workers, an increase of 90,000 (44%) in five months. One in four has been waiting longer than six months.
The association warns that at this rate of increase, the number waiting will hit 400,000 by November – double the total 12 months previously.
DR UK’s Head of Policy, Fazilet Hadi, said: “The scale of this surge in numbers waiting for assessment or a service or payment is deeply disturbing. Behind these figures are hundreds of thousands of real people waiting to lead fulfilling lives and often trapped at home.”
The figures come just a week after ADASS published its comprehensive annual Spring Survey of its members and warned that people working in adult social care and those who rely upon it were facing the most challenging winter they had ever faced.
Sarah McClinton, ADASS President, said: “These new findings confirm our worst fears for adult social care. The picture is deteriorating rapidly and people in need of care and support to enable them to live full and independent lives are being left in uncertainty, dependency and pain."