HCPA continues to work in partnership with the key players in Hertfordshire to speak on behalf of members at key meetings and look for funding opportunities.
Responding to a House of Lords Select Committee report on the sustainability of the NHS and adult social care, Margaret Willcox, President Elect of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), said:
“We welcome this report which shows that only a long-term solution, and not short-term fixes, will solve the dual problem of providing a sustainable NHS and adult social care system.
“With increases in demand and cost of social care, providers closing, a rising ageing population and those living with increasingly complex needs, long-term and sustainable funding is needed to stabilise a care market in crisis and stop the vicious circle of people being admitted to hospital due to lack of available care in the community and facing a delayed discharge for the same reason.
“A new independent Office for Health and Care Sustainability will need to prioritise and improve investment in intervention measures for adult social care, to help elderly and disabled people live more dignified, fulfilling and independent lives which will help to reduce hospital admission pressures.
“Better co-ordination and fairer allocation of social care funding with NHS funding will better meet people’s care needs.
“The forthcoming social care Green Paper provides a vital opportunity to future-proof adult social care and save the NHS money and we look forward to working with providers, charities and independent think tanks to help the Government achieve this essential and achievable goal for those needing care now and the majority of us who will need it in years to come.”
ENDS
Alan Harris
ADASS Media Office