Age UK urges Osborne to bring social care 'back from the brink'
In response to a newreport on the impact the National Living Wage will have on thecare sector,Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK warns that without extra funding the results 'could be disastrous'.
“Introducing the living wage into the care sector is the right thing to do, but the Government must fully fund it or all the evidence we see and hear is that the impact on care homes (and on home care providers too) will be devastating and many will go out of business. We know it is becoming incredibly hard to recruit and retain care staff so improving their terms and conditions is crucial, or the care industry could collapse from within. But the Government will solve one problem only to create another if they bring in the new living wage but fail to provide the extra funding to pay for it.
"If 9000 care homes did go out of business we tremble to think of the consequences. Most care home residents are frail and unwell and many have dementia or other forms of cognitive decline. The impact on their health and wellbeing of having to move from the place they regard as their home could be disastrous. And where would they go? There simply aren't the spare beds for them elsewhere in the community and the chances are our hospitals would be overwhelmed, piling additional pressure on our already heavily stretched NHS.
"This all goes to show how important it is that the Chancellor uses the forthcoming Spending Review to place social care on a sustainable financial footing and brings it back from the brink."
