YVONNE FOVARGUE MP: Reward our NHS and care staff

Health and social care workers have been at the heart of the fight against coronavirus, working day and night to protect the NHS and save lives.

They do so much to make our health service one to be proud of and they deserve our respect, admiration and full support.

From the very beginning of the outbreak health and care staff have made great sacrifices.

Yet many of those on the frontline have been undervalued and underpaid for too long. I believe we owe them and the whole country a vision of a better future when we come through this pandemic.

In July, the Government announced a pay rise for NHS doctors and dentists. However, the announcement excludes nurses, midwives, hospital porters and other NHS staff.

Many other public sector workers – including those working on the frontline in social care – have been left out.

The announcement also comes on the back of years of public sector pay freezes and I am concerned that the increases for some workers will not make up for a decade of real terms pay cuts.

I do not believe this is fair as it fails to reward those who have been at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus.

NHS and care staff, many of whom are exhausted and fearing burn-out, need more than Thursday evening clapping.

They have been asked to give so much and too often they get so little in return.

I will continue to press the Government to recognise and reward NHS and care staff with a guarantee of decent fair pay.

I also know that many people across our borough are concerned that, for too long, social care has lacked the priority and attention it deserves. I agree that long-term reform is essential.

The outbreak of coronavirus and its spread throughout the country has demonstrated beyond all doubt just how important social care is.

I believe mistakes were made at the beginning of this pandemic and the Government was too slow to act to protect older and disabled people.

A report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee finds that care staff were left without protective equipment, thousands of older people were discharged from hospitals to care homes without tests, and Ministers did not ensure that social care was given the focus it needed.

I am concerned that our social care sector has been underfunded for too long and it was ill-prepared to deal with a public health emergency like coronavirus.

A decade of cuts to local government of more than £8 billion has been lost from adult social care budgets and too many people have been left to cope without the support they need.

Adult social care providers and councils face up to £6.6 billion in extra costs as a result of the coronavirus emergency.

The Government should ensure that social care providers are compensated for the additional costs caused by Covid-19.

Beyond the pandemic, I support long-term reform to increase access to care, to help the 1.5 million people currently going without the support they need, while protecting people from high care costs.

As part of a wider commitment to establish a National Care Service, I support introducing free personal care for all older people and extending this to working-age adults as soon as possible.

I also believe Ministers should address the widespread vacancies across social care, invest in the workforce and support unpaid carers.