In order to help resolve the care home issues, radical change is needed
Currently
‚- Private sector care home companies pay high salaries, bonuses and expenses to their senior management
‚- Private residents fees subsidise adult social care patients ‚- Insufficient care home spaces, so beds are blocked in hospitals (at a higher cost)
‚- Operational staff are low paid so it is not a financially viable career option for some.
‚- Operational staff sometimes have limited English
‚- Dementia is not classed as an illness, so Health funding does not cover care home fees
‚- Duplication of admin and social services effort and cost between hospitals and Social Care system.
‚- 2% extra Council Tax is insufficient to fund the requirements of an ageing population
Suggestion
‚- Create one Health and Social Care system by integrating adult/elderly care services and NHS
‚- Integrate budgets
‚- One management structure
‚- Add a % to all tax bills ring fenced to fund Elderly Social care
‚- Create quality public sector funded care homes
‚- Private sector care homes to become part of the Private Health service for those who have the means and are willing to pay
‚- Children’s services to function separately
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