The vast majority of care providers are continuing to deliver care that is rated good or outstanding which is a testament to their hard work and dedication and they deserve credit for that.
We want to see that number grow and a reversal in the number of providers who don’t quite reach that level, because one example of poor provision is one too many and there are no excuses. But that improvement will only come if there is proper investment.
The sector has gone through three decades of under-funding, by government after government, and that is bound to have an impact not only on standards of care but on the amount of care we can deliver – there are currently 2m people who cannot get the care they need.
Due to that lack of investment, we have seen local authorities and integrated care boards unable to properly pay for care and a race to the bottom in terms of fees, which is only ever going to result in falling standards and a shortage of care.
We are calling on the Government to invest in social care – and not the £680m they announced last year – but the £2bn extra the sector agrees is the minimum needed.
We want to see NHS and social care brought together in a true National Care Service with social care staff enjoying parity with their NHS colleagues in terms of pay and conditions.
And above all, we want to work with the Government to help create a better social care sector that we can all be proud of as a country.
Mike Padgham is Chair of The Independent Care Group.