'I want to live in a country that cares - but Sunak cares about wrong things'
When Rishi Sunak pledged to address “people’s priorities”, I’m not quite sure which people he had in mind.
As a self-employed working mother with elderly parents, my priorities are health and social care, childcare, accessibility of mental health services, and the safety of my children online. None of these were in Rishi’s top five.
It is encouraging he seeks to reduce NHS waiting times. But how often over the years have we heard a Tory Government promise to reduce waiting times?
What these politicians fail to understand is that our health and social care provision is broken – and it can only be fixed through a commitment to investing in the professions that look after our most vulnerable people.
The NHS doesn’t operate in isolation; it needs social care, police, teachers, local authorities and voluntary, community and social enterprise schemes to operate effectively alongside it.
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But their budgets are stretched to capacity and labour is short… and the NHS bears the brunt.
The most pressing problem the NHS faces is delays in releasing patients from hospitals to free up beds.
The blog QualityWatch reports delayed discharges rose 57% in the 12 months April 2021-2022, from 8,039 to 12,589. I can give you a personal example of why this happens.
My 76-year-old mum was diagnosed with a blood cancer called follicular lymphoma.
At the same time she developed lymphoedema, making it difficult for her to walk or move.
She needs help with eating, dressing, bathing and mobility, and was admitted to hospital for emergency care.
Rishi Sunak spoke at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London (Getty Images)After two weeks she was ready to go home – but she did not leave for three months because there was no one at home to provide the care she needed.
My brother works, my sister-in-law cares for a son with learning difficulties, I live 200 miles away and my other siblings work full-time, too.
The hospital requested home care help from the local authority, for someone to visit my mum once a day to administer medication and support her needs.
To this day she has received no in-home support, which led to my brother – who is just about making ends meet – turning a downstairs room into her bedroom as she can’t climb the stairs.
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He also had to change his lifestyle to ensure that my mum’s health needs are met.
You see, Rishi? Your pledges fail to understand that in order to achieve a strong, productive nation, you need to look after the health of its most vulnerable people.
Overlook the desperate need for social care, and the burden falls on the very people you need to go out and work to help you achieve your economic goals.
I want to live in a country that cares – but Rishi, you care about the wrong elements.
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