Care sector close to collapse, says protesting CEO
The social care market is "close to collapse", a care home boss calling for more support from the government has said.Geoff Butcher, CEO of Blackadder Care Homes, which runs seven care homes across the Midlands, took part in a march in Westminster on Tuesday. He was one of hundreds to attend the day of action aimed to get more financial support for social care providers from the government. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the new Labour government inherited "significant challenges" facing the sector.
Tuesday's Providers Unite event called for more support from the government to help care homes deal with the rise in both the living wage and contribution rate for employers' National Insurance, which were announced by the government in their budget in October 2024. Mr Butcher said: "We're fighting incredible cost pressures because of the decisions by the government. "None of it is funded. "It's immensely difficult."
Think tank Nuffield Trust has calculated that the budget measures will cost independent care providers in England an extra £2.8bn in 2025-26 - £940m in additional National Insurance and £1.85bn in extra wage costs.Of this extra bill, the think tank predicts that care homes will have to foot about £2bn themselves. Mr Butcher, who runs care homes in Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, said the issues "aren't new". "We're meeting in London to protest because we've tried talking, we've tried lobbying, we've tried complaining for nearly 20 years and no one's listened," he said. "It's at a point now where the market is very, very close to collapse."They can't keep kicking this can down the road." A DHSC spokesperson said the department has taken "immediate action" to help the social care sector."This includes a £3.7 billion funding boost, 15,000 new installations to help disabled people live safely and independently in their own homes, and a £2,300 increase to Carers Allowance," they said.
Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
19 hours ago
- Spectator
How exactly will Reeves's funding boost fix the NHS?
The NHS was a big winner at the Spending Review, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 'record cash injection'. Two hundred miles from the Commons in Manchester, NHS England Chief Executive Sir Jim Mackey, told healthcare leaders gathered at the NHS confederation's annual 'expo' that the government had 'done us a good turn'. There will be a £29 billion real-terms increase in day-to-day spending for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with its annual budget reaching £232 billion by 2028-29. The budget for the NHS in England alone will rise to £226 billion. Government spending on health and care will have doubled in a decade. The DHSC budget will eclipse the national income of Portugal and more than 40p in every government pound will be spent on the NHS. There was a strong sense of déjà vu listening to the Chancellor, as she reflected a growing fiscal orthodoxy.
STV News
2 days ago
- STV News
Frontline workers warn sector on verge of collapse amid soaring costs and staff shortages
At a small community centre in Dalry, a heated game of Uno is getting under way. Around a dozen adults with learning disabilities gather weekly to socialise and learn vital life skills. The sessions are run by Neighbourhood Networks, a charity providing social care to around 300 people at any one time across the central belt. Manager Michelle Carlyle told Scotland Tonight: 'Our service is really important for those who don't have anybody else there for them to help them get out and build that confidence and connect to the new groups within their communities.' STV News Michelle Carlyle. Michelle often runs money management sessions with members by planning budgets for mock days out. Alison is a regular at the events and says she was able to put those skills to good use on a recent trip abroad. 'I had to plan out the budget in Paris,' she explained, 'So I had to do that, but I've [also] learned how to be more confident going out and about more, with cooking and doing other things.' STV News Alison The Dalry group was set up five years ago during the pandemic and Michelle says it quickly became a lifeline for the members. 'Some of the members have no other support in place. So without us, some of them would really struggle to get on with life and they might become one of those statistics that are forgotten and slip through the gaps.' Neighbourhood Networks' chief executive Heather Calvo says there's a lack of understanding around how far-reaching social care can be. She told Scotland Tonight: 'People might think traditionally social care is going to peoples' houses, it's very practical support and helping with meal preparation, maybe personal care, but social care is also helping people emotionally. STV News 'Helping people get out and about, helping people develop skills, helping people be present and able to contribute to their community. 'Without social care, the challenges that the NHS is currently experiencing would be far worse. It's an investment, social care is an investment. It prevents people from ending up in hospital in the first place.' But Heather says the services, often provided by the third sector, are under enormous pressure. The UK Government has announced plans to end future overseas recruitment of care workers. And earlier this year, there was a 1.2% increase to employers' National Insurance contributions, along with a lowering of the threshold at which it is paid. Heather says the impact will be huge. 'Our National Insurance bill is going up by 35%,' she said. 'Given that most of our costs are staff, that's enormous. When I heard the news about the budget last October, my jaw hit the ground and my heart sank not just for us, but for social care organisations across the piece.' STV News Neighbourhood Networks is a member of the Coalition of Care Providers Scotland, which has carried out a survey centred on the outlook for the industry. Heather said: 'The statistics are stark. 57% of organisations may need to hand back contracts to local authorities because they can't afford to deliver it. 67% of organisations might need to tap into their emergency funds this year just to get through the year, and the worst of all is 91% of organisations have said that without significant change they might not be in business in four years' time. 'I think it's grim. I think this is a matter of what you want to see in your community, in your society. The impact on the NHS will be huge.' Watch the full report, Social Care Under Pressure, on STV's Scotland Tonight on Thursday at 8:30pm. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
PPE from company linked to Mone did not meet required safety standards, court told
Personal protective equipment supplied by a company linked to the Conservative peer Michelle Mone did not meet required safety standards and 'could seriously harm or kill patients' if used, the UK government has argued in court. Opening a high court trial for the Department of Health and Social Care, Paul Stanley KC said that the company, PPE Medpro, had not complied with technical manufacturing processes to ensure that the 25m surgical gowns it provided were sterile. The DHSC is seeking repayment of the full £122m it paid for the gowns to PPE Medpro, which Mone first recommended to ministers during the Covid pandemic in May 2020. PPE Medpro is defending the claim, arguing that the gowns were manufactured in China to the necessary standard of sterility, and that the DHSC agreed to the process before it awarded the contract. In its claim, the DHSC says that the gowns were marked as sterile and with 'CE', which denotes fulfilment of European technical standards, but did not have the required number after it that shows which approved quality assurance organisation has certified them. Health officials saw this when they first inspected the gowns in the UK in September 2020, and refused to release them for use in the NHS. In his opening submission to the judge, Mrs Justice Cockerill, Stanley referred to a statement made for the case by a DHSC official responsible for quality control of medical products. 'His evidence is categorical; his team would not have considered using the gowns as sterile surgical gowns,' the submission says. 'Without the relevant assurances of conformity that the gowns met sterility requirements, the potential impact on safety was such that they could seriously harm or kill patients and so could not be released for use.' The DHSC awarded the gowns contract, and another contract worth £80.85m to supply face masks, after Mone first approached the then Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, in May 2020. The contracts were processed via the then Conservative government's 'VIP lane', which gave high priority to companies recommended by people with political connections. Mone, who rose to prominence running her lingerie company, Ultimo, was appointed to the House of Lords by David Cameron in 2015. Mone and her husband, the Isle of Man-based businessman Doug Barrowman, had for years publicly distanced themselves from the company until in November 2023 the couple confirmed their involvementand said that Barrowman was an investor and chair of the PPE Medpro 'consortium'. Setting out how the gowns contract was awarded, the DHSC said in its submission that Mone had 'pressed Medpro's case' with officials. Mone did not attend the hearing, but Barrowman was in the courtroom, sitting with his lawyers. Neither they nor any PPE Medpro employees who were involved in securing the contract, or members of the consortium, are listed to give evidence. Charles Samek KC, representing PPE Medpro, said that the gowns did comply with the required standards for sterility, and that the DHSC had approved the process before they awarded the contract. 'The secretary of state [for health] knew everything there was to know about my client's offer, all cards were on the table face up, and they entered into this contract … with their eyes wide open,' Samek said. The high court action is separate to the investigation by the National Crime Agency into whether Mone and Barrowman committed any criminal offences during the process of procuring the contracts. The couple have denied any criminal wrongdoing. In his submission, Samek said there was a concern that the NCA investigation, which he described as 'long-running and seemingly never-ending', is being conducted at the same time as the DHSC's high court claim 'to exert pressure' on the company and people connected to it. The NCA investigation is 'hanging … like Damocles' sword over PPE Medpro, without ever seemingly being progressed', his submission said. The high court trial is scheduled to last five weeks.
