The Homecare Association has warned that government efforts to shift care from hospitals into the community will falter unless it provides councils with the funding to make that shift real and backs the care workforce delivering it.

Responding to the ADASS Spring Survey published today, the Association stressed that people who draw on care and support are already feeling the effects of overstretched local budgets. Some councils are reducing or cutting care services; some are cutting fee rates, forcing providers to hand back work, which affects continuity of care; and some are encouraging a shift to unregulated homecare because it is cheaper, leaving older and disabled people with no protection or recourse if something goes wrong. Preventative support and care, which helps people to live well at home, is being sacrificed to pay for those with complex care needs.

Dr Jane Townson OBE, CEO of the Homecare Association, said:

“Homecare transforms lives. It helps people stay well, connected and independent in their own homes, close to their loved ones, and part of their communities. However, it’s being systematically undervalued.

Directors of Adult Social Care are clear: without proper funding, they cannot pay providers fairly, meet rising demand, or invest in prevention. This results in people waiting too long for care, going without care, or being admitted to hospital unnecessarily.”