Date published: April 16, 2020
Government announces action plan for adult social care in England
Last night, 15 April, the government in Westminster announced a new four-point action plan for social care in in England during the coronavirus (or Covid-19) pandemic. Adult social care is a devolved responsibility, meaning that the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland decide what action to take in this area, which have not yet been announced.
The action plan for adult social care in England comes after concern from organisations within the social care sector, including us, about the additional pressures being put on the system as a result of coronavirus. As the numbers of people infected with Covid-19 across the care sector has increased, the government has been forced to act and produce the action plan.
We welcome the concrete aims stated in the action plan for adult social care in England and will be monitoring immediate developments as well as what this could mean in the long term for Shared Lives and the social care sector.
What is the action plan for adult social care in England?
The four-points listed in the government’s action plan are;
- Controlling the spread of infection.
- Supporting the workforce.
- Supporting independence, supporting people at the end of their lives, and responding to individual needs.
- Supporting local authorities and the providers of care.
How is the government planning to achieve these aims?
The action plan outlines several ways in which the government intends to achieve its four aims. Firstly, the plan states that testing for Covid-19 will be rolled out for all care workers, some people leaving hospital and some residents in care homes. Patients ready for discharge into social care will be given priority testing to help ease the burden on hospitals. The plan does not set a deadline for when this testing will be carried out and we will be monitoring this closely.
The plan also states that the government will dramatically increase the quantities of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available to care providers. The plan specifies that there will be further distribution of PPE to the social care sector this week, starting with the Local resilience Forum (LRF) areas which have the highest need. The government have also said that within three weeks there will be a new delivery system for PPE available linked to the NHS supply system.
In addition, the plan commits the government to supporting the sector to grow. The plan states that this will be achieved by relaunching a recruitment strategy for social care workers as well as developing an online platform which will give people who want to work in the sector access to training and job opportunities.
The action plan recognises that it is important to tailor support for people with ‘cognitive and intellectual impairments’, including learning disabilities, autism, dementia and mental ill health. The plan promises that guidance will be published for social care workers and family carers to support this group, although no date has been given for when it will be released.
The governments previous commitment to provide £2.9 billion of funding to ‘strengthen care for the vulnerable’ is restated in the plan. This funding includes £1.3 billion to accelerate discharge from hospital and £1.6 billion for local authorities.
Finally, the government state in the action plan that there is a clear need for a long-term plan for social care beyond the Covid-19 pandemic but have not specified what this will look like. Shared Lives Plus will be following the governments actions in this matter.
You can read the government’s plan in full on the gov.uk website.
