Carers Trust responds to government’s Health and Care Bill

6 July, 2021

The government has today set out in Parliament new proposals for a modern health and social care system which, it says, will deliver “better care for our communities”.

The proposals, laid out in the Health and Care Bill, are based on plans already set out in NHS England’s Long Term Plan and also incorporate lessons learned from the pandemic which, the government says, will benefit staff and patients.

Carers Trust CEO, Gareth Howells, called on parliamentarians scrutinising the passage of the Bill through Parliament to ensure that the Bill does far more to protect the rights, interests and needs of unpaid family carers:

“This Bill rightly seeks to ensure better integration of our health and social care systems. Better integrated health and social care for patients will never really be possible unless the Bill addresses the needs of those providing so much care for patients in the first place – unpaid family carers.

“One of the best ways for legislation to ensure that the needs of both patients and carers are met is by bringing together local voluntary sector organisations and the wider local community as equal partners in decision-making at the local level. We’re pleased to see our recommendations have been taken on with the Bill proposing to involve carers in these decisions.

“The Bill is an important step in helping us understand how well local authorities are implementing their duties to carers. Alongside this, what’s really needed to create improved health and social care provision in our communities is better support for the people delivering so much of it – unpaid carers.

“While the Bill did not plan to address long-term social care funding issues, it’s widely accepted that local authorities can’t provide that support without sufficient and sustainable long-term funding for their social care services. We have to ask, therefore, how many more initiatives the government will implement, that won’t benefit unpaid carers and the systems we all want to improve, without the vital reform of social care funding.”

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Matt Whitticase on mwhitticase@carers.org and 07824 539481.

Carers Trust is a major charity for, with and about carers. We work to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring, unpaid, for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems.  www.carers.org 

We do this with a UK wide network of quality assured independent partners and through the provision of grants to help carers get the extra help they need to live their own lives. With locally based Network Partners we are able to support carers in their homes through the provision of replacement care, and in the community with information, advice, emotional support, hands on practical help and access to much needed breaks. We offer specialist services for carers of people of all ages and conditions and a range of individual tailored support and group activities.

Our vision is that unpaid carers count and can access the help they need to live their lives.