24 January 2023 , 00:01
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England's two most senior bishops today call for a "radical redesign" of the country's "broken" social care system.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York warn that parts of the UK have become "care deserts", while millions of unpaid carers are "largely invisible and frequently exhausted".
A hard-hitting report published by Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop Stephen Cottrell said: "The architects of England’s welfare state in the 1940s could not have imagined that eight decades later so many people would be struggling to get essential care and support."
They call for care assessments to be simplified and standardised budgets to be awarded based on categories of disability - with users given freedom over how money is spent.
A Commission set up by the pair also recommends a recruitment drive and better conditions for carers - with improved pay, conditions, and training. It concluded: "We cannot afford not to do anything."
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The Archbishop of Canterbury says he hopes for "a rise to the challenge of fixing our broken social care system" (PA)The Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care's report said there is currently "no clarity" on what families can expect, or how care is paid for.
It said the care system is "complex, confusing, and difficult to navigate" for those needing support, while those who provide it feel "overstretched and undervalued".
The report, published today, says: "There are several million ‘unpaid’ carers who are largely invisible and frequently exhausted.
"Staff shortages have worsened, with ‘care deserts’ in parts of the country. For people with health as well as care needs, social care and the NHS are poorly coordinated and work as separate systems."
The Commission called for a National Care Covenant - which it says would set out the rights and responsibilities of national and local government and the wider public.
Mr Welby said: "This report gives me hope that we can rise to the challenge of fixing our broken social care system."
And Mr Cottrell added: "I pray that this report is the beginning of a wider national conversation about what it means to be a caring society.”
The report said that previous studies into the care system have resulted in "little meaningful change".
Dr Anna Dixon, who chairs the commission, said: "This is no time for tinkering around the edges of a social care system that for too long has left people who draw on care and support feeling marginalised, carers feeling exhausted and undervalued, a system which provides no clarity about what is expected of each of us.
"A National Care Covenant, with its focus on the mutual responsibilities, will help us to work together towards our common goal."
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A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: "We are committed to working with a range of stakeholders on how best to improve adult social care and we have made up to £7.5 billion available over the next two years to support services - the biggest funding increase in history.
"The government has made progress on implementing the 10 year vision set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, published in 2021. This includes boosting workforce capacity, supporting sector digitisation, developing our approach for improving oversight of the adult social care system, and enhancing the collection and use of data.
"In Spring we will publish a plan for adult social care system reform, setting out how we will build on this progress over the next 2 years."