Cutting NHS wait times, supporting social care and addressing disability inequalities
Ahead of the opening of polling stations tomorrow, we’re giving health and care experts their last chance to express what should be a priority for the next government.
A month of campaigning has passed since Rishi Sunak announced there would be a summer General Election. During this period countless flyers have been posted through letterboxes, local MPs have turned up on our doorsteps and you haven’t been able to turn on the news without being greeted with either Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Nigel Farage or Sir Ed Davey.
Despite these efforts, the most recent polling data shows Labour are storming ahead and are likely to be the next party that takes over Downing Street. However, all is still to play for as polling stations are set to open their doors at 7am tomorrow – Thursday 4th July.
Ahead of this, various health and social care researchers at Kings College London have expressed their views on what the next government (whoever they will be) should focus on.
Dr Claire Feely, Lecturer, Department of Midwifery at Kings College London
‘Our maternity services have never had so much scrutiny, regulation or policy – all of which are held in high esteem globally. Yet the national picture suggests a continuing downward trend in terms of safety, experiences, maternal/neonatal morbidity and mortality rates; as well as staff wellbeing/turnover. Furthermore, poorer outcomes continue to occur for those historically marginalised; Black, Asian and other minoritised women and birthing people and their babies. Such issues have long been known and it is incumbent for the new government to tackle the complex issues that maternity services face, but this must be addressed within the wider societal context in which maternity services intersect such as adequate housing, benefits, maternity leave/pay, access for those most vulnerable.
‘As maternity services continue to recover from the pandemic, it must be a priority for the new government that all services are restored across the sector with adequate staffing in place to ensure women are protected from a growing endemic of birth trauma. Staff wellbeing is crucial to this endeavour alongside delivering care within a trauma-informed approach to reverse this trend urgently.’
Professor Miraz Rahman, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry from the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences
‘The new government must urgently prioritise tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by implementing targeted initiatives to resolve the current crisis in antimicrobial drug discovery and address the loss of skilled researchers in this field. Almost all major pharmaceutical companies have abandoned infectious disease drug discovery due to commercial challenges, leaving the antibiotic pipeline empty. This situation is slowly leading us to a catastrophe that will result in significant loss of life and major disruption to economic activity. This was predicted by Lord Jim O’Neill’s review in 2014, but we have failed to make significant progress in addressing this challenge over the last ten years.
‘The UK government must work with the European Union and the USA to identify workable solutions that incentivise research and development in antibiotic discovery. This will encourage pharmaceutical companies to return to infectious disease research and ensure biotech companies receive proper support during challenging phases, preventing bankruptcy and the loss of valuable skills.’
Nuno Almeida, Founder and CEO of Nourish Care
‘The care system is broken and it is in urgent need of attention because the problem is only going to grow. In the next 10 years, 600,000 more of us in the UK are going to need care, in fact, most of us will have to draw on care at some point and as it stands, the system is already struggling. The incoming government is going to face huge infrastructure and budget challenges.
‘As it stands, there are inequalities when it comes to care access, people are being coerced into packages that don’t suit their needs and the shortage of carers will only worsen.’
Professor Claire Steves, Professor of Ageing and Health and Director of King’s College London new Centre for Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment
‘Optimising resilience in older adults – enabling individuals to ‘bounce back’ after experiencing adverse episodes such as the development of chronic illness or disability – needs to be a priority for the incoming government. This challenge is made doubly important by the stressors in our system – a changing economy, weakened health care service after COVID-19 and impending climate change which is already disproportionately affecting older adults.
‘Census 2021 data shows that three-quarters of this group in England and Wales live in urban regions. Local factors are really important in ensuring resilience of older people – from providing insulation in housing, safe accessible places to engage in physical activity, to delivering health care services designed with older people’s needs in mind.
‘Every borough and region in the country, therefore needs to think about how it is building the resilience of our older populations.’
Jospeh Musgrave, CEO of Home and Community Care Ireland
‘I have got to give a lot of credit to Sir Ed Davey for putting care at the forefront of their message. They are talking about something quite fundamental and calling for a new deal on care. The proposal around a Royal College of Nursing, a differentiated minimum wage for carers is interesting. Labour and the Conservatives are getting off lightly talking about this topic and both are flirting with the ideas presented by the Dilnot review (which has sat on policy shelves for over a decade), and something the Conservatives have been promising since 2019. I am not hearing anything around far-reaching reforms that would put it <<care>> on a sustainable footing. Both Labour and the Conservatives are ducking it and getting away with it.’
Jo Henney, CEO of Nugent
‘I want tomorrow’s result to mark the start of real change, but until we understand the full implications of funding and implementing the new policies, I don’t want to get my hopes up that there will be fast and lasting support for the social care sector.
‘The more encouraging pledges include Labour’s Young Futures programme – early years intervention through increased youth workers, mental health support workers, career advisers and youth hubs, to create a sense of place, community, opportunity and support for future generations.
‘No matter the outcome, our social care system is stretched to its limits; we are desperate for robust, sustainable policies to ensure long-term stability, which will protect the dignity and well-being of the most vulnerable people in society – temporary fixes or performative words will not.’
Images: Kings College London/Claire Feely, Claire Steves, Miraz Rahman and Elliott Stallion
More on the General Election:
General Election 2024: Will this be the year of social care?
The Conservative manifesto is 76 pages, but hardly mentions social care
‘Politicians don’t fully grasp scale of mental health crisis’ – Mind