Ending the Social Care Crisis: A New Road to Reform

Australia’s NDIS was also justified in terms of the economic benefits to individuals and society, such as participation in the labour market, the wellbeing of disabled people and their carers, efficiency gains and savings by other public services. The commission described the economic benefits of the new scheme as ‘profound’ and easily exceeding it

‘A much more understanding and accessible system and for it to be much more transparent about what support is available.

Over-reliance on residential and nursing homes is unsustainable because of rising demand and costs of services, and it flies in the face of what most people want.

In England in 2019–20, £32 billion was paid out in financial benefits to support the additional costs of disability and long-term illness. Granted, not all of these benefits are focused on care needs.

hospital care, general practice, community health and social care services, and mental health services. The rhetoric of integrated care is still not a reality for many.

Projections are that, by 2050, one in four people in the UK will be aged 65 and over. Over the next 20 years, the number of people aged 85 and over – the group with the greatest needs for social care – is set to double (ONS, 2019).

who provides care, both paid and unpaid, and what is the right balance between the responsibilities of families, communities and the state.

many struggling to find their way around a complex system (Henwood et al, 2020). It seems absurd that, instead of designing something easy for people to use, we have ended up with a system so complicated and bewildering that some places have created a new type of worker called a ‘care navigator’ to help people to use it. Getting into the system in

Care workers’ pay is around 70 per cent of average salary levels