Social care has received ‘woeful support’ from successive governments, according to the NHS Confederation.
The statement was made by Dr Layla McCay, the director of the NHS Confederation, in response to a Downing Street press conference, which revealed figures from the Office for National Statistics that 22% of registered deaths from COVID-19 have taken place in care homes.
Dr McCay commented on the dangers of comparing UK figures to those reported from other countries, as ‘countries have different ways of recording these figures, which may not be immediately obvious’. She went on to say that while ‘there will be a time for a full inquiry on how our Government has prepared and responded to this pandemic’, for now the focus should be on protection and support for the NHS from the heavy demand of COVID-19.
‘This is a reset moment for how public services are delivered, which we cannot afford to waste’, she said, adding that the support that the government provides to the social care sector needs both ‘immediate and long-term attention’.
The NHS Confederation has launched a campaign, #NHSReset, intended to contribute to the public debate on the changes needed for the health and social care system, following COVID-19. This campaign aims to recognise the contributions of the health and social care workers in response to the pandemic, rebuild service provision to meet the needs of communities affected by the severe disruption and reset the ambitions of the UK for the future of the health and social care sector.