Will government ignore yet another warning about the state of adult social care? The Health Foundation responds to new CQC report

Responding to the publication today by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of its annual report on the state of care in England, Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said:

‘The CQC’s report illustrates the heavy toll the pandemic has taken on NHS and social care services despite heroic efforts from health and care workers. Even before COVID-19 a decade of underfunding and understaffing had undermined the resilience of the NHS and led social care to the brink. 

‘The casualties are people. There is now a huge and growing backlog of people who need NHS care, which has built up because of the pandemic. The government must not underestimate the time and investment that will be needed to tackle this very visible waiting list, with the avoidable suffering it represents.

‘So many people are going without the social care they need. Care workers are under enormous pressure and providers are at risk of collapse. This is the fifth successive year that the government’s own regulator has raised the alarm about the social care sector, with ever more stark warnings that continue to be ignored. The Prime Minister made a very clear promise to fix social care once and for all. Will this government finally deliver?’