Report finds care for elderly 'increasingly rationed' in England

This report, published jointly with the Nuffield Trust, looks at the current state of social care services for older people in England, through a combination of national data and interviews with local authorities, NHS and private providers, Healthwatch and other groups. It considers the impact of cuts in local authority spending on social care providers and on older people, their families and carers. Alongside this work, they were commissioned by the Richmond Group of Charities to interview older people about their experiences of social care.

The outcomes of this report is of social care providers under pressure, struggling to retain staff, maintain quality and stay in business; local authorities making unenviable choices about where to make reductions; a complex set of causes of delays in discharging older people from hospital; and the voluntary sector keeping services going even when funding was curtailed.

The key findings from the report are as follows:

• Social care for older people is under massive pressure; increasing numbers of people are not receiving the help they need, which in turn puts a strain on carers.
• Access to care depends increasingly on what people can afford – and where they live – rather than on what they need.
• Under-investment in primary and community NHS services is undermining the policy objective of keeping people independent and out of residential care The Care Act 2014 has created new demands and expectations but funding has not kept pace. Local authorities have little room to make further savings, and most will soon be unable to meet basic statutory duties.

To find out more you can read the full report here.