'Patience is wearing thin': Yorkshire care provider urges Andy Burnham to act faster on social care reforms

The Prime Minister said plans for a national care service would be on the ballot at the next election.

A leading North Yorkshire social care provider has praised Andy Burnham’s plans for an NHS-style care service, however called for faster action.

In a speech at Labour Party Conference, the Prime Minister said he wanted to build a “national consensus” around plans being drawn up following a consultation by Baroness Louise Casey.

This would provide at-home care free at the point of use, which would be funded by changes to the pensions triple lock.

He said: “If we carry on like this, broken social care will break the NHS too.”

The Prime Minister pledged to put these changes to the electorate at the next general election.

Mike Padgham, chair of North Yorkshire’s Independent Care Group, who runs Saint Cecilia’s Care Home, in Scarborough, said Mr Burnham’s words “were a breath of fresh air”.

“At last, we have a Prime Minister who understands that you cannot fix the NHS without fixing social care.

“I welcome his commitment, wish him every success and want to help him deliver it.”

However, Mr Padgham said he was disappointed that real reform would have to wait until after the next general election, adding that “patience is wearing thin”.

“We cannot know who will win that election or whether today’s proposals will survive it,” he explained.

“After three decades of reports, reviews and promises, patience is wearing thin. People who need care, their families and those providing it cannot keep waiting.

“The Prime Minister can be bolder now. Billions are being spent while people who are ready to leave hospital remain there.

“Let’s direct more funding into social care and community support so people can receive the right care sooner.

“We may not be able to deliver every reform at once, but we can begin to limit the care costs people face, drawing on proposals such as Andrew Dilnot’s.

“I would gladly meet the Prime Minister and share ideas from the front line. We want this government to succeed. The current situation is a scandal, and it is time to start making changes.”

Professor of palliative care Fliss Murtagh, director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre at the University of Hull, praised Mr Burnham’s plans.

She said: “The Prime Minister is right to call for a person-centred, high-quality care service that starts in the home.

“Today, too many people receive too little care, too late, and the costs of a failing care system are born by those least able to afford it.

“Almost one in three people in England die without the basic end-of-life care they need, while resources go towards intensive and expensive interventions that may not be what patients want.

“For many older people with multiple health conditions, quality of life and wellbeing matter most.

“Our research shows specialist palliative care can improve quality of life while also cutting healthcare costs by up to £8,000 per person, freeing resources to invest in care as well as cure.

“Universal, high-quality care is achievable, but it requires system-wide reform: investment in community services and the workforce, better integration of health and social care, and care planned around what people actually want.”