We don’t need a £5.7 million letter from Boris: fund social care

We need food for the elderly and a fully funded not-for profit Social Care System, says one of our members:

I am wondering why Boris Johnson is sending a letter to each and every household repeating the message that millions have already taken on board.

Is Boris’s Letter a vanity project or another method of supplying us with a more expensive form of toilet roll to stockpile at a cost of £5.7 million? This letter does nothing to help the vulnerable, is an expensive gimmick aimed at boosting his person ratings.

Trying to get food for the self-isolating elderly and vulnerable is almost impossible. The ability to navigate the correct search on the internet and then various automated phone systems creates stress and overwhelms the elderly and those with additional needs.

I have tried to register my parents, both over 80 with an online delivery system at a major supermarket chain. At present relatives are unwell and cannot deliver food, their neighbours self-isolating. The supermarket phone line asks you to register with them online. I go to the webpage, enter the email and it is promptly rejected with the message that they are not taking registration at present. I make another call and am passed from automated section to section stating that proof needed that the person(s) are vulnerable. The call then terminates itself stating they are too busy, and call back later.

On checking with the local authority, you face a page directing you to register as a vulnerable adult via the Government page. After navigating Government pages of information and questions regarding the exact nature of debilitating health, you get the message that they will now send this information to your GP, as if GPs have lots of time to deal with more paperwork. The only support available means placing more pressure on an overburdened underfunded NHS.

The problems that I encountered have been multiplied thousands of times by many trying to register the vulnerable and at risk. How many people are left to struggle alone? The neglect of those in need has been a national scandal. Relying on volunteers to prop up a broken system is not a sign of good governance and a planned and targeted response but one of desperation.

We have a special care system that has been cut to the bone and woefully inadequate when faced with current challenges posed by the virus.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised a £5 billion cash injection to social care, spread over five years, and this has been welcomed by the Local Government Association¹. To date there has been little detail as to how this will be distributed. The extra £1 billion a year does not fund a much-needed wage rise for low paid workers and the initiative to allow Local Councils to increase Council tax by 2% to bring in £500 million puts more pressure on many deprived areas and passes the bill onto many who are already struggling.

The needs of Social Care are massive, and it means more than funding. The Coronavirus has yet again displayed the weakness of a market driven, profit driven and poorly funded system failing to meet the needs of millions.

For those keen to make a difference, support the work and demands of Reclaim Social Care, a coalition of individual members and affiliated organisations campaigning for all social support, independent living and care services to be: 

• Free at the point of use 

• Fully funded through progressive taxation 

• Subject to national standards based on article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, addressing people’s aspirations and choices and with robust safeguarding procedures. 

• Publicly and democratically run, designed and delivered locally and  co-productively involving Local Authorities, the NHS and service users, disabled people and carers 

• Underpinned by a workforce who have appropriate training, qualifications, career structure, pay and conditions. 

• Committed to giving informal carers the rights and support they need.

We urge organisations to join our campaign to fight against the cuts in social care and support and for a radical change in the way social care is delivered.  

Build public support to demand free, fair social care 

Stop cuts and closures: defend jobs & services 

Press councils to stop & reverse privatisation 

Push politicians to commit to free universal care & support 

Promote participatory, rights-based models of provision

https://www.reclaimsocialcare.co.uk/

JOIN Reclaim Social Care

Organisations: https://www.reclaimsocialcare.co.uk/forms/affiliation-for-organisations/

Individuals: https://www.reclaimsocialcare.co.uk/forms/membership-for-individuals/