We join other charities and 24,000 people urging the government not to ignore social care. In an open letter addressed to all party leaders, we are calling on the next Government to take action and prioritise social care.
The ME Association
MEA Comment
A fully-funded and efficient social care system is vital for many people affected by ME/CFS and Long Covid. This is especially true of those who are very disabled and have no other means of support. Being a carer for those who are confined to bed and unable to function normally is no easy task. Much of the responsibility is shouldered by loved ones because they cannot access social care or do not trust that paid carers will understand. We not only need social care to be better in general, we need its employees to be better trained and to be able to handle the needs of those they are paid to look after.
Press Release:
Today more than 24,000 people and 54 organisations are calling on the next Government to make sure it prioritises reform and funding for social care, following decades of political inaction.
In an open letter, addressed to all party leaders, organised by the Care and Support Alliance, which represents over 50 of Britain's leading charities, highlights decades of underfunding and lack of action has left care in a shocking state. The letter says:
“Millions of older and working aged disabled people and their carers desperately need a social care system that works, and a failure to act would be a betrayal.
“For social care it's time for actions, not just words. Good social care supports people to live their lives. To get up and out, work, see the people they love, be independent, but currently at least 2.6 million people go without the care they need.”
The Care and Support Alliance (CSA) chairs, Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK; Emily Holzhausen, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK, and Jackie O'Sullivan, Acting CEO at Mencap said:
“Over the years we've had far too much of politicians of all colours over-promising & under-delivering on social care reform, and we can't go through that all over again. We know that good social care is transformational and it's tragic to see older people and working age adults deprived of opportunities to live well, and unpaid carers under unbearable pressure to fill yawning service gaps.
“A failure by the next Government to address this long-standing issue would be a betrayal of all those who rely on care and their families, while also setting up the NHS to fail. The prize from successful social care reform is too important for the issue to be put in the ‘too difficult box by our politicians, it's time for them to front up and act.”
Media Coverage
BBC News: Families warn against social care ‘betrayal' | 21st June 2024