ADASS responds to the Care Quality Commission’s State of Care Report 2023/24

In response to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England, Anna Hemmings, CEO of ADASS said: 

“This report makes clear the need for greater investment in social care if the Government is to meet its big shifts from acute to community and treatment to prevention.

“It paints a worrying picture of people having to wait at both ends of our system. There is a need to increase social care and community-based support so people can leave hospital safely. At the same time, we need to speed up people’s access to early, low-level support in the community to prevent them needing more expensive treatment in hospital in the first place.

“Ahead of the Budget, we are calling on the Government to outline it’s plans and investment in a long-term 10-year social care strategy to run in parallel with the NHS plan, to enable local councils to support us all to stay well and live independently, which is better for everyone and reduces pressure on the NHS.”   

On children and young people, she added:

“We’re storing up problems for the future unless we urgently improve our support for our children and young people with disabilities, mental health issues and illness, particularly as they reach adulthood. 

“Pressure on budgets means too many young people are seeing their support disappear as they become adults, so existing issues like poor mental health worsen and additional problems like addiction, homelessness and crime develop. Our current approach comes at a high cost to both the individual, their family and the local council trying to pick up the pieces.

“Councils need resources to put in place long-term plans for vulnerable young people to support them into adulthood, so we can prevent problems getting worse and the need for more complex, expensive support down the line.”