A leading social care expert has written to the health secretary outlining all the key problems with the sector that should be addressed within the first 100 days of Parliament.
Vacancy rates are at an all time high, children’s homes are severely underfunded and the leading public body for health organisations in the UK has just been found to be not-fit-for-purpose. These are just some of the key issues that social care is facing. With these in mind, Gillian Ashcroft, founder of Exceptional Care – a group of children’s care homes in the north of England – social reform campaigner, award-winning entrepreneur and philanthropist, has written an open letter to health secretary Wes Streeting outlining what must be prioritised within the first 100 days of Parliament.
Ashcroft has shared with the open letter with us and it can be read in full below.
Dear Secretary of State,
Urgent Need for Detailed Social Care Reform within the First 100 Days of Government
As a long-time campaigner for social care reform in the UK, entrepreneur, philanthropist and concerned citizen, I am writing this open letter to you to request that a detailed strategy for social care is published as a matter of urgency.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your recent appointment as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care; I can see there is real energy in the new Government to get things done. This is refreshing to see, and it supports your election campaign ‘Change’ message that the nation has responded to by giving you a sizeable majority in government – which hopefully means you will be able to act quickly and push much-needed changes through the parliamentary process at pace.
My purpose of this letter is to urge you and the new government to prioritise and provide comprehensive details on social care reform within the first 100 days of taking office. The current social care system faces significant challenges that impact thousands of individuals and families across the UK.
These challenges include underfunding, the social care workforce, and inconsistencies in care quality and access. I have no doubt that none of this is news to you.
I would like to see urgent actions immediately press upon you for action to be taken that addresses these areas of the current services that have been left unchanged and not improved for decadesin some time. My own efforts to bring about a wider discussion about social care reform have involved establishing the Combined Care Consortium, which although it is in its infancy is bringing together influential care sector leaders which include (but not exhaustive) sector leaders in non-profit, public, private and third sector in health and social care such as Liverpool Lord Mayor, the NSPCC, Ygam, NHS, Police, youth justice and a high percentage of children’s services at Local Authorities, to discuss issues and propose solutions for policy change.
I would like to share the results of this work and the ideas we have proposed with you and your team and offer any support that I can to help make our social care system a global benchmark of success and best practice.
Reforming social care is not only a moral imperative but also an urgent necessity. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing issues, leaving many vulnerable individuals without the support they need. The repercussions of this are felt not only by those in need of care but also by their families and the broader National Health Service system.
I note your early comments in the media about the NHS being ‘broken’ and so I anticipate with a great deal of hope that this indicates your intention to take the action needed.
Therefore, I respectfully request that the government provides a detailed plan outlining the proposed social care reforms at the earliest opportunity. This plan should I believe address key issues such as:
- 1. Funding: sustainable and adequate funding mechanisms for social care services. I realise there is no magic money tree, but Labour’s election message to stimulate GDP growth and build our economy suggests a plan to raise funds beyond tax rises.
- Workforce: strategies to recruit, retain, and train a skilled social care workforce. We need to make the sector more appealing as an employer to attract the people needed to deliver likely increases in service demands.
- Access and Quality: measures to ensure equitable access to high-quality care for all who need it. This lies at the very heart of the issue for me, but I admit that there is no quick fix – but galvanising the potential power for change within the social care sector would be an important start.
- Integration with Health Services: improved coordination between social care and health services to ensure seamless care for individuals. The need for a more joint up approach is perhaps one of the most pressing areas for attention as many within the sector will testify.
Providing clarity and direction on these points will not only reassure the public but also set a strong foundation for meaningful and lasting improvements in the social care sector, where very little action has been taken in at least two decades of dithering and delay in my personal opinion.
The urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. Following the national event I hosted last October ‘See It Through The Eyes Of A Child,’ issues such as criminalisation and exploitation were raised first-hand by care leavers from 30 years ago to only two years ago. My work within the sector is specifically focussed on working with children and young people, from age eight to 17 with complex needs who require therapeutic and nurturing residential care.
While there is the need for systemic improvement across the entire social care sector, our children and young people deserve better, and intervention is required in the younger age groups immediately.
From my own observations, there are several areas we could target early with the new energy being demonstrated by yourself, the Prime Minister and your Cabinet colleagues.
Earlier intervention with young people would be more cost-effective and deliver more positive outcomes, potentially much more quickly, for the young people concerned. In addition to this, an influential priority needs putting on care leavers.
If we could also join up services better and prevent activity in silos, so that best practice and service delivery is more widely embedded nationally, this could be a big step forward.
We must also target wasteful use of resources so that these can be more carefully deployed to better support youngsters already in the social care system, or enabling the extension of support to more youngsters who need our help.
What we really need is leadership and a clear strategy communicated with conviction and underpinned by a realistic action plan for change. This is where you come in, and myself and my many colleagues working within the sector can – and want to – help.
There is an opportunity to transform social care in this country and I speak for many in the sector who really want to work with you and your team to make this happen. Reaching out to the social care sector and activating this energy and desire to help is something I would encourage you to do in these early weeks and months of government.
In conclusion, I urge you to seize this opportunity to initiate substantial reforms in the social care sector, ensuring that all individuals receive the care and support they deserve. As I have said, I am willing to meet with you or your team to discuss this matter further and offer any assistance that may be needed.
This is our moment for structural reform rather than short-term ‘Elastoplast’ thinking.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
Gillian Ashcroft
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Social Care Campaigner
Founder and CEO of Exceptional Care and Think Tank Academy
Founder and Catalyst for the Combined Care Consortium
Image: Deniz Fuchidzhiev
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