NHS Confederation responds to Health and Social Care Committee’s report on the true cost of inaction on social care

Responding to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report on the true cost of inaction on social care, Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, said:

“We welcome this report which sheds yet more light on the problems in the social care system. The NHS and social care are intricately linked, with delays in social care often leading to patients medically fit enough to go home being stuck in hospital beds. This creates bottlenecks, including in the urgent and emergency care pathway which can lead to overcrowded A&Es and delays to ambulances to transfer patients.

“If the NHS is to continue improving performance then we also need to see a solution to challenges in social care. Low pay and long hours have led to huge gaps in social care staffing, with more and more providers closing, feeding instability into a struggling system.

“We look forward to engaging with the commission, especially given the associated impact its findings when made will have, on all parts of the health service.”