Roadmap for national care service

The first ever roadmap for a national care service in England would help ease NHS pressures, transform lives, and tackle workforce shortages, says the UNISON public services union.

Support guaranteed, a Fabian Society think tank report commissioned by UNISON, calls for long-term solutions rather than quick fixes, and sets out 10 principles to underpin a new national service. These include affordable, accessible and high-quality care connected to the NHS and other local support.

Spending cuts have created a social care “emergency”, with councils forced to ration support despite huge rises in demand, the report sets out, with poor pay and conditions factors in the current 165,000-vacancy staffing crisis.

This is causing “huge harm” to people with lifelong and enduring disabilities, frail older people are losing their independence and unpaid carers are under extraordinary pressures.

The report also highlights the dysfunctional nature of the social care “market” and recommends councils deliver local care services themselves, removing the profit motive from care provision.

Under the new service, employees would be guaranteed fair rates of pay, with a new workforce settlement providing national minimums for wages, sick pay, pensions and annual leave across the country. Workers would also have guaranteed decent, comprehensive training.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “A national care service would boost wages, put quality above profit-making and ensure everyone receives the support they need.”