Finally a penny can fall. The ongoing crisis in the NHS, as almost always, is exacerbated by the fact that social assistance is in such a difficult situation.
About 13,000 people who could be discharged from the hospital remain trapped in hospital beds because they do not have a set of medical services. That’s about one out of every three beds that doctors desperately need but can’t use, resulting in trusts being constantly kept at 66 per capacity – tough enough to try in the summer, but now wreaks havoc in the winter. And that’s before you add in the massive amount of backlogs in healthcare due to the Covid pandemic.
The domino effects are devastating. Patients cannot be admitted to hospital due to lack of beds resulting in longer waiting times for emergency care, ambulances wait longer to transfer their patients and fewer trips to the emergency room, general practitioners cannot handle the complex medical needs of the elderly, refer patients to an emergency room that doesn’t have a place for them.
The pandemic did not cause these problems, but accelerated them. This is a vicious circle, but targeted support for social services is the beginning and an important part of the way out of this crisis.
The government did just that today by announcing an additional £250m on top of the £500m already earmarked for the Adult Social Protection Reserve Fund. The money covers a maximum stay of up to four weeks per patient until the end of March. The Integrated Care Councils—the organizations that regulate health care services in each area—will start reserving beds that best meet patient needs.
Age UK welcomed the move, but warned that if historically low labor and “minimum wages” were not addressed, it would be little more than a quick fix for the winter and the same problems would return. The latest data shows that there were at least 165,000 job openings in adult social services at the end of 2021-22.
Successive governments have proved unable to even try to solve the welfare problem once and for all. In a November fall statement, Rishi Sunak became the latest prime minister to shy away from the opportunity to fundamentally reform social security funding and taxes, dropping plans to put a social security ceiling on the long lawn.
Additional short-term investment is always welcome, but it’s nothing more than a band-aid. Until a bold reform plan is finally devised, those in need of care will remain second-class citizens in the eyes of the government.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.