To ask what we do to help with the cost of social care?

[AdultsSocialCare]

Adult and childrens social care takes up the majority of all council tax spend. This leaves a small amount for everything else that councils do.

What is the solution?

I feel like ultimately the central government need to give more money to councils but the chance of that has to be next to nil.

So, what else?

More early intervention. Also, potentially unpopular opinion but I think assisted suicide should be legal. I've worked in social care with the elderly. There reaches a point many are begging to be out of their misery. Perhaps if more people were able to opt for a dignified, peaceful end (obviously 100% choice) a by product is lower costs for social care

I only suggested befriending not helping out. I work in ASC I know exactly what it's like but cheers for the lecture.

More money. Or lower expectations.

Are you talking about long term care of aging seniors? Young children abandoned by family or middle aged drug and alcoholics on the street?
elderly seniors are an easy issue compared to the other two groups.

Nobody thinks euthanasia is an unpopular opinion. MNers fall over themselves running into these threads to suggest offing old people as a solution to this crisis.

It's not unpopular or controversial. It's just distasteful and would be ineffective.

I also suspect it was the opinion this thread was baited for.

Assisted suicide should certainly be legal. However someone will probably soon be along to suggest knocking off all the over 70s to save money.

The council will be soon be funding through children's social care, a 52 week residential placement for my son not because he needs 52 weeks but because they have no respite provision or in the community support for young people with his needs.

Whats going on in CSC is the stuff of dystopian sci-fi. Children have been utterly commodified and sold to the highest bidder in an industry that keeps supply artificially scarce.

I watched a documentary a while ago about a place in Holland where university students were given free housing in nursing homes. It appeared to work really well. www.vitainternational.media/en/interview/2018/05/29/the-nursing-home-offering-free-housing-to-students/41/

Did you read my comment to the end. I did participate in suggesting two possible solutions.....

I think this is the likely solution as noted in my Op. It really does need proper funding.

Unfortunately have no faith in government to deliver.

You didn't state any kind of view that would imply you care at all about the subject. And your name... Well it's just all quite weird isn't it?

Yes

Social care in all forms.

I can assure you it was not.

@Miffee

I am genuinely interested in what the package of solutions could be.

It should be of interest to every single one of us. We are people that will grow old, have children within our families and pay an extortionate amount of council tax; the majority (say 80% ?) of which is spent on social care.

Costs are going up. Budgets are not.

If central government are not going to fund adequately and all the local councils are facing the same challenges, perhaps they need to come together as a hive mind.

@AdultsSocialCare seniors actually pay for themselves and are not a societal burden.
the mental health crisis starting with youngsters then into middle age is your sinkhole. Not only do they not contribute to the pot throughout their lifetime they drain it dry and beyond.
i would however say company greed on behalf of pharmaceutical companies is a health care problem.

I don't think teenagers are suitable to work in a care home.

I just dealt with our Summer Job kids at work today... let's say their work ethics are lucking comittment. If they can hide in a corner, they will!

I know in Germany people are paying around 18% of wages (employees & employer combined) towards their own care fund. It is far from perfect, but it's a start of looking at things differently, as in taking responsibility for ourselves.

Prioritising NHS spending on cataract surgery, hearing testing/hearing aids and hip/ knee replacements and physio so nobody has to wait more than a few weeks. The surgery is easier with fewer complications and a faster recovery rate if the cataracts aren't too advanced / the person hasn't lost >6mo worth of muscle mass due to not being left in crippling pain and they can keep going under their own steam for longer.

Possibly more consideration of factors affecting UTIs and periodontal disease as they are common, debilitating and have knock on effects elsewhere in the body.

In addition to this, just under half of ASC budgets are spent on working age adults, 70% of this on learning disabled adults.

A lot of this was down to austerity cuts under the Conservative government which saw council spending cut back by over 20% between 2010 and 2019 www.theguardian.com/society/2019/may/29/council-spending-on-local-services-down

Many councils were forced to strip back services to those that were legally required but councils still can't cope with the current cost of living crisis

It’s no problem. This is an anonymous website and it’s not clear from your user name what you do and frankly if you do work in the care sector you would know that a a couple of hours “befriending” the elderly or whoever is not going to touch the sides of the enormous current crisis in social care.

Do you mean they pay for their own care with savings or through the sale of their house?

What if they don't have savings or a house?

agree,
I don't want a group of teens in the care home my adult dc is in thanks.

Inheritance tax on all estates to help pay for it

Yivamoon - biased i know but i think my kids were pretty good - admittedly one worked as a kitchen hand so had more limited involvement with clients and the other was doing a relevant degree so was interested in the wider aspects of ageing. The latter worked during uni holidays for several years. I couldnt have done their job though.