A ST HELENS MP has called for the government to address the "elephant in the room" and fix the social care crisis.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, May 16, St Helens South & Whiston MP Marie Rimmer attacked the government's policies on social care, which she said are not adequate to fix the problems facing the NHS and the backlog of patients waiting for assessments.
Noting that people are living for longer and with more complex needs, Ms Rimmer said that the social care sector has been "neglected" and that funding for its services has not kept pace with its "ever-growing problems".
She said that by appropriately tackling the problem with adequate investment, patients can be cared for at home or in care facilities which will reduce the backlog of cases and free up hospital beds.
The work of St Helens Adult Social Care and Clinical Care Commission was noted as an example that integrates local services to "keep people where they want to be".
Ms Rimmer told the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, that “we cannot have a functioning health service without a fully functioning social care system".
Speaking after the debate, Ms Rimmer said: “The Government is too busy trying to use the NHS as a political tool to actually solve the problems. Instead of talking about 40 new hospitals, which seems to have disappeared as a promise, the Government should tackle the social care crisis.”
“The covid-19 pandemic laid bare the problems our country faces with social care. If it is fixed, it will help to fix the NHS. It will free up hospital beds, GP capacity and help to get waiting lists down. It is a big task, but it is one the Government cannot afford to walk away from. For far too long social care has been neglected.”
The St Helens South & Whiston MP said that she understands social care is a "top priority" for local authorities as it takes up the majority of their budget, and called for further governmental support to meet the scale of the problem.
Offering a solution to fix the problem, Marie Rimmer MP added: “The way to fix social care is to recognise it as part of the overall health system, not as a separate entity. If you invest in care provision so that elderly people can get as much treatment as is possible at home, it frees up hospital beds.
"Only by having the health and care sectors funded adequately, and working in tandem together, will the issues start to be resolved.”
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