We’re back with another week’s Friday Five for the social care sector. If you’ve not read the Friday Five before, then it’s pretty self-explanatory. We collate five of the week’s most interesting news stories from the sector, so you don’t have to! Then, we publish them on a Friday (who’d have thought?) Let’s crack on then.
1. Only 5% of Public Authorities Pay Care Providers Enough According to Homecare Association
According to the Homecare Association (HA), only 14 out of 276 public authorities paid care providers the hourly rate calculated by the HA as being what’s needed to pay worker wages and cover travel, training, insurance, etc. – that rate is £25.95. It found that the average hourly rate paid across the country was over £4 less than that, at £21.56.
2. Almost a Quarter of a Million Awaiting Adult Social Care Assessments
249,589 adults were waiting for a care needs assessment in August. The cuts that adult social care services are having to make to meet budgetary challenges haven’t helped matters, with the almost £85 million directors have been asked to collectively save, coming on top of the more than £800 million in budget savings they’d already committed to make for the year.
With budgets already stretched incredibly thin, Beverley Tarka, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass), said, “Social leaders and their teams … can’t perform miracles”.
3. New Health and Social Care Secretary Delivers Speech
The new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, spoke to the NHS Providers conference this week, saying:
“It’s a genuine pleasure to be your Health and Social Care Secretary.” Before going on to say, “We have got a lot of work to do. As we continue to bed-in the reforms [that] government brought forward last year to create strong and integrated care systems across England.”
Referring to the many strikes and pay disputes there have been this year across the healthcare sector, she said: “I’m acutely aware of how the strikes have disrupted patient care, and I’m committed to getting around the table.”
Atkins is the fourth Health and Social Care Secretary in just two years.
4. Creation of New National Institute for Health and Care Research – Research Delivery Network (NIHCR RDN)
Taking over from the National Institute for Health and Care Research – Clinical Research Network (CRN), the Research Delivery Network (RDN), also from the NIHCR, will be created in 2024.
It will, according to gov.uk, “increase capacity and capability across the health and care research system, supporting the successful delivery of high-quality research across England for the benefit of patients and the public.”
5. A Feel-Good Story for Friday!
Nursery children visited one care home in Telford, Shropshire, recently donating specially made harvest hampers and meeting up with the care home residents. In an age of seemingly constant sad news, little glimpses of the community like this bring welcome smiles to our faces!
Final Thoughts
That’s your lot for this week’s Friday Five social care edition. We hope you’ve found it nice and informative. So, rest up and read up if you’re able, and whatever you’re doing this weekend, stay well and stay safe!
