Consultation launched on reshaping adult social care
A major public consultation has been launched on plans to change adult social care in Northern Ireland.
A central aim of the plans is to significantly improve the amount and quality of social care services, with a focus on increasing investment to meet increasing levels of need.
The recommendations include improving pay for social care staff, strengthening powers to regulate and inspect independent sector providers, and reviewing the current balance between private, public and voluntary sector provision in social care.
The consultation takes place in the context of projected high growth in demand for adult social care, with population projections for Northern Ireland between mid-2018 and mid-2043 estimating a 56.2% increase in people aged 65 and over and a 106.4% increase in those aged 85 and over.
Health Minister Robin Swann said: ‘Northern Ireland has waited too long for reform of adult social care – and for the sector to get the recognition and support it both needs and deserves. I am determined to put this right.
‘Our current social care services do provide invaluable support for many people and we recognise the contribution of our existing workforce and of the family carers without whom the system could not work.
‘However, we know that there is growing demand for adult social care and that some aspects of the current system don’t work the way we would like them to. We need to address this and that’s why we need to change how social care is organised, funded, commissioned, delivered and led.
‘The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of adult social care services. Social care is not easy work even in ordinary times and these have been anything but ordinary times. Social care staff have shown real commitment to the people they support throughout the pandemic, responding to the situation with kindness, care and determination to reach the people who need them.’
More information about the consultation can be found here.
Photo by KOBU Agency