Responding to a National Audit Office report on readying the NHS and social care in England for COVID-19, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“This helpful report rightly focuses on the fundamental role and importance of adult social care during this pandemic, as well as contributing to the wider debate on what lessons should be learned from this entire experience.
“Social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS, in order to best serve all those who work in it or use services to support their independence and wellbeing. The coronavirus crisis has given renewed impetus to and understanding of the vital relationship between health and care, and this needs to be built on for the future.
“We have been calling for a long-term, sustainable funding solution for adult social care since long before the current crisis. As this report highlights, the sector has risen to the unprecedented challenges it has faced from this pandemic but now needs certainty about how it will continue to operate and be paid for in future.
“Effective joint working between health and social care as equals is an essential part of this and continues to happen in many places across the country. Government and NHS England have an important role to play in recognising and encouraging this work and the vital contribution of local government in supporting people’s health and wellbeing.”
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