The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently published their annual “State of Care” report for the year 2021/22. The findings showed that things are getting worse for older people and carents.
The CQC is the Government body which regulates all health and social care services in England. Its role is to ensure the quality and safety of care in hospitals, dentists, ambulances, and care homes, aswell as the care given in people’s own homes.
The mainstream media have been highlighting concerns and failures regarding the NHS and social care system and this report – from the Government regulator – confirms widespread and deep problems which are getting worse.
Based on surveys and statistics, the CQC concluded that:
- The health and social care system is gridlocked
- People are struggling to access care
- There are deep inequalities in access to care
- There are significant workforce shortages across the NHS and social care.
Gridlock
There are severe staff shortages in home care services and in care homes. These shortages are causing major problems for older people who need care, their carents, and all care providers.
The scale of the problem for hospitals is significant. Figures from July 2022 showed that 6 in 10 hospital inpatients (60%) stayed in hospital longer than necessary simply because they could not be adequately supported at home.
Carents struggle to get help
There is growing evidence that carents are finding it harder to access timely support for their parents.
The CQC found that more than half of all councils (61%) could not respond to every request for support and were therefore prioritising people. Help is prioritised for requests where abuse or neglect is highlighted, for those who need hospital discharge or those who have been in residential care on a temporary basis.
The CQC also reported that, due to shortages in paid carer workers, hundreds of thousands of hours of home care could not be delivered each week.
They also found that those seeking help, experience long delays with little or no support during the waiting period.
Older people are suffering unnecessarily
The delays and shortages mean that growing numbers of older people who need help are struggling with simple but essential activities like getting dressed, bathed or going to the toilet. What’s more, almost half (40%) of those waiting for help report that their situation gets worse while they are waiting.
Recent figures indicate that as many as 2.6 million people over fifty are not getting enough help – equivalent to 12%, or one in eight, in that age group.
The Carents Room fills a gap in care
The CQC asked those needing help how they could be better supported while waiting for an assessment. 19% said that they needed some reassurance that they would eventually receive an assessment and 17% wanted more information about how social care services work and how to access them.
This website along with our social media accounts are designed to help carents and their parents understand what type of support they might need and where that might be available. Each section in our bookcase relates to a different type of support. The section on “personal care” relates to social care and includes a guide to care services. Our store cupboard is designed to showcase innovative products and services which can help carents and their parents.
We are also delivering “employee assistance seminars” to help carents understand the care and support that is available to them and their parents.
