Health Foundation responds to COVID-19 Inquiry report on adult social care sector

Responding to the COVID-19 Inquiry report on the impact of the pandemic on the adult social care sector, Tim Gardner, Deputy Director of Policy at the Health Foundation, said:

‘Module 6 of the COVID‑19 Inquiry highlights how the care sector went into the pandemic underfunded, understaffed and undervalued following decades of political neglect. Action to protect people who use and provide social care during a global pandemic was often too little, too late.

‘These policy failings led to real harm. The virus took a grim toll on people in care homes. Others went without access to the care and support they needed or were left socially isolated. And care workers faced impossible pressure delivering care in the face of widespread suffering. The government's claim to have put a 'protective ring' around care homes from the outset of the pandemic was simply not grounded in reality.

‘The priorities for policymakers today are little different to before the pandemic – expanding access to care, protecting people from catastrophic costs, better support for unpaid carers and improving working conditions for care workers. The prime minister’s commitment to reform social care in England offers a route to finally deliver the fundamental changes the COVID-19 pandemic showed are desperately needed.

‘Moving away from the current threadbare safety net will require additional state investment, but the costs of inaction are also immense. A more generous and comprehensive system would improve many lives and better equip the sector for future pandemics.’

Media contact

Nadine Sheikh-Sobeh
Nadine.sheikh-sobeh@health.org.uk
020 8152 8120