Exclusive: Crisis in care of elderly as £1bn cuts bite
I was refecting with a fellow “shaken out” person from Local Government in 2010 that the bloodletting was starting again with things being grimer than many people in the sector want to let on.
This article about the savage new cuts washing through adult social care therefore resonates – it tells us:
“The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) calculates that budgets dropped in England by £1bn last year and forecasts another £1bn in cuts over the next two years. Council chiefs are wielding the axe at a time when demographic pressures are growing, with the number of people aged over 85 increasing by more than 250,000 in the last six years.
Some councils are trying to minimise the impact on front-line services through efficiency savings from elsewhere in their budgets, but many are still having to cut services or raise charges.
The Independent carried out a survey of more than 30 authorities, establishing that they are planning to reduce care spending by an average of 3 per cent this year. As a result, many are having to make tough decisions on social care.”
I wonder if in rural areas it will lead to a new impetus for people to think seriously about supporting new community based social enterprises to help reduce costs and potentially increase the quality of care provided in terms of its “local” component.