Opinion: ‘Integrated social care is so vital’

This week, I helped launch a report.

It was a rare report because it called for reforms that wouldn’t cost money. In fact, taxpayers would save money.

Look Ahead Care and Support estimates that nearly £1 billion could be saved each year by extending integrated mental health, social care and supported housing services across England. Their report is a robust analysis of how supported housing keeps people with mental health problems out of hospital.

This means more than savings. The online launch began with a video from service users, which had the hairs standing up on the back of my neck.

It was the first time one man had ever had his own, private shower. He said it made him feel “like a king”. There are lots of these small - but incredibly significant and humanising - differences between long-term hospital care and being supported to live independently.

The sad truth is that there isn’t enough money to sustain the social care system, as things stand. Any way to save money while improving outcomes must be seized.

Yet only a handful of NHS trusts and local authorities are adopting Look Ahead’s integrated approach. In my view, this missed opportunity comes down to culture.

I’m not casting aspersions.

The system just isn’t geared towards different organisations working together.

As regular readers will know, both my parents both worked in the care sector. I’ve been vocal about the work and extraordinary sacrifices made on our behalf, which needs to be properly valued.

The pandemic has brought the long-term future of care into even sharper focus.

Lasting reform will require innovation and leadership from our Conservative Government, but also political courage on the part of the Labour opposition. The tendency for social care funding to become a political football had done the most to block progress.

Two decades have seen at least a dozen white papers on social care reform. Ambitions are easy to state: it takes legislation and political will to achieve them.

Social care is not just about old people, important as that is, but vulnerable people of all ages. Supported housing is key. I hope we will see more here in Peterborough.

As the Chancellor works on his budget, there is a big opportunity. Look Ahead’s report sets it out in compelling detail.

Likewise, as we emerge from the pandemic, the need for mental health services will only grow. Integration of all these services is long overdue.

The Prime Minister has given us a roadmap for leaving lockdown.

A roadmap for integrated social care would be as profound as the creation of the NHS.