The British Medical Association is calling for concerted action to fix social care in the UK, saying that urgent steps need to be taken to improve it in the short, medium and long term.
At a roundtable event on 26 January, representatives of leading charities, think tanks and other organisations discussed the main challenges facing the sector and also considered possible solutions.
The BMA said all agreed that the priorities for action included better funding to improve access and quality of social care, investment in the social care workforce, and a culture that valued the social care sector and recognised its importance to the wider health and care economy.
They also agreed that people needed more information about their options, and said there should be better integration between social care and the NHS.
The virtual roundtable can be watched here: https://youtu.be/-4BME02WVaE
Participants of the roundtable included:
- Helena McKeown, BMA
- Andrew Dilnot CBE, Nuffield College, Oxford
- Baroness Hollins, cross-bench peer
- Caroline Abrahams, Age UK
- Oonagh Smyth, Skills for Care
- Ivan Camphor, BMA,
- Christine Douglass, BMA
- Colin Noble, Local Government Association
- James Bullion, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
- Danny Mortimer, NHS Confederation
- Morgan Vine, Independent Age,
- Vic Rayner, National Care Forum,
- Charles Tallack, Health Foundation
- Simon Bottery, The King’s Fund
- Emily Holzhausen, Carers UK
- David James, Care Quality Commission
