7 minutes agoAbout sharingWatch: Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay challenged on ambulance deathsBy Becky MortonBBC political reporterThe healthiness secretary has defended the delay to a cap on care expenditures in England, saying it will let extra funding for social careUnder. the plans folks would have paid no extra than £86,000 in the direction of their individual care in the course of their lifetime. Steve Barclay pronounced the delay was a “difficult decision” but the authorities was dedicated to the reformsHe. instructed the BBC the additional funding would support with discharging folks from hospitals extra speedily. Mr Barclay pronounced the “prime cause” of this difficulty was associated to social care as folks who were prepared to be discharged could not beHe. added that this was having a knock-on affect on ambulance delays and challenges in A&E. “We’re prioritising the funding we want to get that circulate into the hospitals and key amongst that is getting extra funding into social care,” Mr Barclay instructed the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme. Mr Barclay pronounced there would be £28bn. of funding for social care over the subsequent year and £47bn. the year after, allowing 200,000 extra care packages to be delivered over the subsequent two years. People who are good sufficient to depart hospital are often not able to is because of a lack of help or care house places in the community. The social care cap had been due to come into effect in October 2023 but will now be delayed by two years. County councils in England had urged the authorities to delay implementation of the reforms because of staff shortages and monetary pressures. But the charity Age UK has pronounced the delay to capping “catastrophic” care expenditures “raises critical questions over whether it will ever be launched at all”. Mr Barclay pronounced the pressures on the NHS and social care were “predominantly” due to the effect of the pandemic. However, pressed on whether issues such as long waiting lists and missed cancer targets existed before Covid, he admitted there were “challenges going into the pandemic”. Gary Smith, common secretary or the GMB union, pronounced he was “incandescent” at the healthiness secretary blaming the pandemic for pressures. “The Tory authorities has made ideological judgements for over a decade about slicing services and that is what has left services on their knees and this is not hyperbole or emotion – our care buildings were turned into morgues in the course of the pandemic because of mismanagement and cuts,” he instructed the programme”People. are dying because of cuts to services so I find that interview utterly dishonest and frankly the minister is deluded”. Asked whether long delays for folks waiting for ambulances had led to folks dying unnecessarily, Mr Barclay said: “If there is a delay in an ambulance getting to someone… then obviously that is a materials risk”He. added that this was why it was so imperative to deal with handover delays. Mr Barclay pronounced he also needed to have fewer central targets and devolve extra NHS decision-making to a neighborhood stage to provide greater value for funds. The additional funding for social care was set out in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Thursday, alongside with a £33bn. annual increase for the NHS funds for the subsequent two years. Watch: Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth repeatedly requested if Labour would have given NHS £7bnLabour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth refused to be drawn on how a lot funds his party would give to the NHS. However, he instructed the BBC that Labour would elevate funds for public services by growing the economic system and investing in jobs and abilities. He added that the NHS also wanted extra staff and a Labour authorities would abolish non-dom tax standing to fund new doctors and nurses. Meanwhile, the NHS is facing strike motion this year after nurses throughout the UK voted to walk out over payThe. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for a 173%. pay rise to hold up with the rising fee of living but no UK nation has offered close to that. Mr Barclay instructed Sky News’s Sophy Ridge the demand was “unreasonable” and three occasions extra than these outside the public sector were receiving. He pronounced the authorities had accepted the suggestions of the independent pay review physique but his “door is open” for further talks with union leaders. But the RCN says below-inflation pay rises are compromising care because the NHS is struggling to appeal to and retain nurses. More on this story1 day ago6 October2 days ago2 days agoRelated Topics
Health Secretary Steve Barclay defends delay to social care cap
