Britain facing social care ‘time-bomb’ with thousands of people underprepared to look after themselves in old age

FOR EMBARGOED RELEASE: 00.01 Saturday 20 February, 2016

Britain facing social care ‘time-bomb’ with thousands of people underprepared to look after themselves in old age

Experts say the knock-on effect of lack of planning for later life, as highlighted in poll conducted for this year’s ASTELLAS INNOVATION DEBATE^TM, will further impact upon stretched NHS resources

Chertsey, Surrey, 23 February 2016 - Results from a new survey for the annual Astellas Innovation Debate have demonstrated how people are still not preparing financially for residential care in older age, with over two-thirds (68 per cent) of people questioned saying they are expecting the Government to fund high quality residential care in later life¹. Despite only 21 per cent believing elderly residential care will actually be provided by the state when they need it¹, people admit that they are not planning to pay for care themselves, with one in eight expecting their children to cover the costs and 30 per cent willing to accept lower quality state social care¹. Just ten per cent say they would use a private insurance policy to pay for care home bills.

Experts say the knock-on effect of this lack of planning will only add further pressure to the current adult social care system, as well as send ripples right across the NHS. Former Government Health Minister and MP, the Rt Hon Paul Burstow comments, “The NHS can only be sustainable if there is a functioning social care system too. Hospitals sit in a complex and increasingly fragile ecology. The poll for the debate reveals a worrying fatalism about the state of social care.  A bankrupt care system will undermine the NHS”.

Current shortages in elderly care cost the NHS £669 million according to an Age UK study². In October 2015, the number of bed days lost due to delayed transfer of care peaked at 160,094³ leading to NHS England Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, calling for an urgent political consensus on paying for elderly and social care earlier this year⁴.

With the number of people aged 85 or over projected to almost double in the next 20 years⁵, the current system pressures are only set to increase. Sir David Nicholson, former Chief Executive of the NHS comments, “The NHS and social care are two sides of the same coin one cannot be successful at the cost of the other. People do not fit into bureaucratic compartments and neither should funding”.

The survey also revealed a significant lack of awareness among the general public about the cost of health and social care¹. Almost a third (29 per cent) of those surveyed thought a day in a residential care home costs less than £70 per day when the actual cost averages at approximately £97 per day, with some nursing homes charging up to £128⁶. The findings follow a government announcement that a pledge to cap residential care costs at £72,000 per person has been pushed back to 2020⁷.

How the NHS - and other Global health systems - are planning to meet the increasing demand on services caused by the growth in our ageing population is the theme for this year’s Astellas Innovation Debate entitled, ‘Situation Critical’.

As part of this year’s debate, we created a new animated film which explores the relationship between ageing and healthcare costs – looking at the impact a single family has on the UK system.  This film is available online here.

Follow the debate on Twitter via @AstellasINNOV8 or join in the conversation at #innovatedebate

References:

1. Astellas Data on File, Astellas Innovation Debate combined survey findings - APEL/15/0097/EU
2. Age UK. Escalating social care crisis in England. Available online via (Accessed 9 February 2016): https://www.ageuk.org.uk/latest-press/archive/age-uk-show-an-escalating-social-care-crisis-in-england/
3. The Guardian. Unblocking beds: One hospital’s efforts get patients home. Available online via (Accessed 9 February 2016):  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/02/unblocking-beds-one-hospitals-efforts-get-patients-home
4. The Guardian. NHS chief demands political consensus on funding elderly and social care. Available online via (Accessed 9 February 2016):  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/18/this-is-nhs-chief-demands-political-consensus-funding-elderly-and-social-care
5. Age UK. Later Life in the United Kingdom: Factsheet. Available online via (Accessed 9 February 2016):  https://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/Later_Life_UK_factsheet.pdf?dtrk=true
6. Social Care Institute for Excellence. How much does care cost. Available online via (Accessed 9 February 2016):  https://www.scie.org.uk/findmegoodcare/advice-and-guidance.aspx?ID=25&careID=42
7. BBC News. Care costs cap delayed until 2020. Available online via (Accessed 9 February 2016):  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33552279