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Member News
20th June 2012The government must deal with current and future funding of social care, Bupa has said.
MPs will debate social care today. Health provider Bupa said a new national system must be put in place to bring an end to uneven provision, and more money must be set aside to pay for it.
"We want any new system to be simple for the consumer to understand," according to a report from Bupa.
"It must be national, to put an end to the current postcode lottery; and finally, but most importantly, funding mechanisms must bring more money into a social care that has been chronically underfunded for years, which has resulted in unmet need.
"We believe that a reformed system needs to be a partnership between the individual and the state whereby those who have the means to pay contribute to their care, but at the same time the state should also pay more to meet rising demand. "
Bupa said it is concerned that government's response to the Dilnot proposals is to be published in a progress report alongside the White Paper and not included in the main proposals for reform.
It said the forthcoming White Paper must address the current and future funding of social care.
Social care is currently chronically under-funded across the sector. Since 2004, net spending on older people's social care has risen by just 0.1 per cent in real terms, a total of £43 million, while real spending on the NHS has risen by £25 billion.
Bupa launched a major report in 2011 looking at the estimated shortfall in local council fee levels for looking after older people in care homes.
Bupa's analysis has shown that care home fees paid by councils have fallen by 3.9 per cent in real terms over the last two years. This is in spite of the fact that inflation is running at 3.5 per cent and costs of providing high quality care – such as food, nursing care and utilities – keep increasing year on year.
"When people access social care it is generally at a time of crisis and there is currently little information available on their options, particularly when it comes to funding whatever care they may require in the future," according to Bupa.
"Older people and their families should have access to a single point of information that can advise on the full range of services and entitlements available to them."