The right care in the right place

Today (Tuesday January 27) was Labour’s NHS day with it put as voters’ number one issue.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham, shadow health secretary, set out Labour’s plans for the future of our NHS in their speeches.

Andy Burnham said Labour plans to make health and wellbeing boards accountable for new year of care budgets, which would cover the health and social care needs of people at the greatest risk of hospitalisation.

“If social care in England is allowed to collapse, it will drag down the rest of the NHS,” he said. “It is a root cause of the crisis in accident and emergency.

“For the want of spending a few pounds in people’s homes on decent home care, we are spending thousands of pounds keeping older people in hospital, even when they are able to leave.”

He also spoke about creating a ‘new arm of the NHS’ that would comprise of 5,000 homecare workers employed within the health service.

They would focus on patients with the greatest needs such as the terminally ill and those who are leaving hospital who need extra help to allow them to move back in to their homes.

“Unite would welcome the integration of home and hospital care but would hope that home carers would be paid a living wage and not have to fund their travel out of their own pockets,” said Obi Amadi Unite/CPHVA lead professional officer.

Unfortunately this plan comes too late for single mum and care worker Anna. “I’ve been a care worker for eight years now. I love my job. But I was actually losing out on money because of the travel costs involved,” she said.

“I was getting £30 a week travel paid by my employer but my fuel was costing me £60-£80 a week. I am now on income support and £20 a week better off. It’s not what I wanted but no one in their right mind would leave their children to be worse off,” said Anna.

Labour’s new plans will hopefully reduce the amount of hospital admissions, lower ambulance waiting times dramatically and take the terrible strain off of A&E departments.

Ed Miliband said Labour would also make the NHS the first choice provider. This would then put an end to private firms coming in to the NHS, causing chaos and failing as seen recently at the privatised Hinchingbrooke hospital.