If you watched the interviews on TV with Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt you will have seen their responses to the question about funding social care. Jeremy Hunt said straight away that he would do it, and that he would merge the NHS and social care.
My main memory of Mr Hunt is from 2015, when he was accusing GPs of being ‘nihilistic’ because they weren’t diagnosing enough patients with dementia. He was also urging the public to get early diagnoses so they could receive ‘tailored care and support’, when GPs were telling him that there was none. There still isn’t. (See https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/news/2019-05-08/over-60-mps-support-alzheimers-societys-call-new-ps24bn-dementia-fund).
In its latest newsletter, the National Care Forum sums up the mood of the country. Addressing whoever becomes Prime Minister, the NCF says:
‘‘So there you have it future PM, domestic priority number one – funding and reform of adult social care.
‘Local Government and ADASS (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) says it.
‘The House of Lords says it.
‘The nine million people providing care in a paid or unpaid capacity say it.
‘The millions of people receiving care (and the 1.4 million needing it but not receiving it) say it.
‘The APPG (Across Party Parliamentary Group) says it’
‘Twenty thousand care plus providers say it. NHS colleagues say it.’
‘So put some rocket fuel under this agenda and properly fund this life changing service now – and for all of our futures’!
