Carers and Labour’s vision for Whole Person Care

In 2015, an incoming Labour Government will face an NHS with a funding crisis and a social care system that has been scaled back so far that in most areas adult social care will only be available to those with the highest level of needs.  The NHS has had no real-terms growth since 2010, once allowance is made for funding transfers to social care.

One Nation Labour has a vision of providing whole person care which will integrate NHS and social care services. But while integration will make a crucial contribution to tackling future funding pressures, it will not be enough in itself tackle either the underfunding of social care or the funding issues in the NHS.

Local authority spending on adult social care has fallen by £2.68 billion in four years, a fall of 20% by March 2014. Nine out of ten local authorities now set their eligibility for social care at substantial needs or higher, compared to less than half of local authorities setting it at that level in 2005/6.

Fewer people are getting help through publicly-funded social care, with one consequence being that more of the care workload now falls on to unpaid family carers. There are 6.5 million people in the UK providing unpaid care for family members or friends and 5.4 million carers in England alone. Between 2001 and 2011, the proportion of men and women who were caring rose in all age groups over age 55 years.

Carers UK report that the ever increasing need for care and support in our ageing population will outstrip the number of family members able to provide that care. Given the increasing pressures on unpaid family carers, One Nation Labour is developing Whole Person Care in a way that recognises and supports the pivotal role of the UK’s 6.5 million carers.

Whole Person Care would bring together three fragmented services (NHS, mental health services, and social care) into a single service co-ordinating all of a person’s needs, because increasingly people’s needs are a mix of all three.  Supporting carers will be central to Labour’s proposals, as they provide so much of the care needed.

I believe it is time for national government to make a Covenant with Carers, which would show how society values their caring and intends to support them to continue to care.

A Covenant could address flaws in the Care Act, widen the definition of carer and address additional burdens put on carers by the Coalition Government’s Welfare Reforms.

Here are some initial ideas that are being considered as part of Labour’s policy review:

1. NHS Bodies having a duty to identify carers, and GPs and hospital staff should signpost carers to the help and support they need.
2. To promote the health of carers, NHS bodies ensuring that carers are receiving relevant medical services needed to support their caring, including relevant health checks
3. The definition of carer being widened to include young carers and parent carers (who currently have rights defined in Children and Families legislation but not the Care Act.)
4. Schools and colleges recognising the needs and rights of young carers and having procedures in place to identify young carers; and more generally government protecting children and young people from inappropriate caring.
5. Not charging carers if they need an extra room for their caring responsibilities. The Bedroom Tax currently affects 60,000 carers and Labour will abolish it.
6. Ensuring that future legislation is “carer-proofed” so that it does not negatively affect carers’ ability to care.

The Labour Government’s 2008 Carers Strategy said that “carers will be respected as expert care partners” and will have access to the “integrated and personalised services they need to support them in their caring role.” A new Covenant with Carers alongside Labour’s Whole Person Care would help move us closer to that goal.

Barbara Keeley is the Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles South