In 2018 the UK celebrated the 70th birthday of the NHS, sadly, last year’s other important 70th birthday went largely unnoticed. 71 years ago saw the introduction of the 1948 National Assistance Act which was the birth of adult social care as we know it, part of its long, rather dramatic, title was “…to make further provision for the welfare of disabled, sick, aged and other persons and for regulating homes for disabled and aged persons and charities for disabled persons”
Unlike the legislation that set up the NHS, the Act did not nationalise social care services making them free at the point of access and thus failed to establish a similarly beloved national institution; because of this along with many other problems, social care, which costs the UK billions each year, is estimated to have a funding gap of £18 billion by 2030/31.
I, alongside many of you reading this, have spent my entire adult life working in this wonderful sector and I do not believe for one second that it will fail, for the sector exists to help people and it is made up of those people who choose to spend their time doing just that.
Social care makes up 6% of the UK employment market which means that at least 6% of all the employed people in the UK spend their days helping other people in one way or another.
I could list the endless number of depressing facts about the sector that we all love but I want take this opportunity to look on the bright side and so here are a just a few positives to end the year…..
In the last month alone, 59 services in England registered with CQC were rated Outstanding; that means that hundreds of children, younger and older adults with learning disabilities, eating disorders, mental ill health, sensory impairments, physical disabilities and those living with dementia are all, right now, as we read this, enjoying some seriously wonderful services delivered by some genuinely dedicated, professional and kind people.
Last month was quite busy for our main regulator CQC as they rated 818 registered services in England as Good as they continue on their journey to deliver an outstanding service to the thousands of adults and children that they support. From residential care homes to GP services to Hospital Trusts to children’s Hospices, some of the work that is currently going on in the UK today is, quite frankly, amazing and those of us that choose to work in this largely hidden industry know that to be an absolute fact.
MacIntyre has made its own contribution to the sector’s achievements by having our regulators, CQC and CIW, rate 33 of our registered adult services in England and Wales Good and Compliant and 3 as Outstanding. Our colleagues in our Children and Young People teams have achieved excellent success in our schools, with all being rated as Good. Our Children’s homes are Good or improving, with a dedicated team working on the development of our children’s offer.
