RCN: social care proposals only a start

Published: 11 July 2012

Nursing staff will be disappointed that the Government has failed to tackle the critical issue of social care funding in today’s social care White Paper and the “progress report” on funding in England, the Royal College of Nursing has said.

The RCN said that much more work is needed to deliver a system fit for purpose.

RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter warned that accepting the need for a cap on the amount individuals contribute to costs without any timescale for implementation will be “cold comfort” to service users and patients. He added that there is a need for much greater integration between health and social care settings to provide a better standard of care.

“It is nursing staff who are currently dealing with the pressures of delayed transfers between hospital and community settings, restriction on services and confusion over who pays for what. We are particularly concerned that at the moment many people face a ‘revolving door’ in care. For some this means ending up back in hospital soon after discharge as the support simply does not exist to care for them properly in the community,” said Dr Carter.

The RCN welcomed the national eligibility criteria and the focus on equal access to care and would like this equal access to be extended to patients and service users who receive ongoing health care in their own homes.