State of adult social care in London

  • By Anastasia Lungu-Mulenga

Since 2010 adult social care has faced unprecedented funding pressures that have impacted the sector in a variety of ways. The past few years have seen an increasingly united voice from not only local government but health partners, private social care providers and the voluntary sector, all calling for the funding pressures in the sector to be addressed.

Steps must be taken to address the challenges that the sector is facing and ensure that people continue to receive the services that they need. London Councils is calling for eight actions on adult social care:

  1. Government must provide sustainable funding to the sector - short, medium and longterm funding pressures in London should be fully met by government – in London this equates to £540 million by 2025.
  2. Increased investment in the health and care workforce to create an equal workforce for the sector – reducing the pressures experienced by many of those working in the sector making recruitment and retention in the sector easier.
  3. Development and empowerment of the voluntary and informal sector made up of the voluntary sector, family and friends, so they can play an increased role in the delivery of care services in the home.
  4. Increase investment of health and care resources into community services and prevention services improving the overall wellbeing of communities helping people to stay in their homes for longer. This will help to shift demand from the acute sector.
  5. Through national education and empowerment programmes, increase the role of self-care and self-management in the sector.
  6. There must be further devolution of health and care - for example, commissioning of local services.
  7. Integration between health and care must deliver better outcomes for people while ensuring the benefits are felt by both the health and care sector.
  8. The Department of Health must publish its long-term plans for transforming the sector, particularly the long-term funding of adult social care.
Anastasia Lungu-Mulenga, Policy and Projects Manager, Health and Adult Services