MPs blast care system failings

The research, from older people’s charity Independent Age, was today endorsed by two of the borough’s own Parliamentarians.

Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue who said: “It highlights the urgent need for fundamental reform of the UK’s social care system.

“Yes, more funding is needed and the cuts inflicted on local authorities over the past seven years have contributed to a failing system but we also need to look at better ways of planning care and integrating our health and social care systems.”

And MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy, said: “Social care in this country has reached crisis point in recent years. Staffing shortages, a pay freeze for health and social care workers and deep cuts to local budgets have created a perfect storm, leaving families across Wigan desperately worried about care in old age.

“The system simply cannot provide security, comfort and dignity for an ageing population with increasingly complex health needs. Ministers must stop kicking this into the long grass.

“Government should end the arbitrary barriers between health and social care to get help to people when they need it and not when things have reached crisis point, invest properly in our health and social care and establish a cross party commission to agree how this will be funded. For too long the Tories have used social care as a political football and it is families in Wigan who have paid the price.”

Independent Age chief Janet Morrison said: “Confidence that the social care system can deal with the UK’s ageing population has virtually evaporated among parliamentarians.

“It is clear from this poll that there is an overwhelming desire from politicians on all sides for the Government to work towards a cross-party consensus on a solution.

“The problems are about more than simply finding new bits of money to pump into a system unfit for purpose. To meet current and future demand, we need a radically different approach, recognising the status quo has failed.”