Sur vey Reveals Concerning Levels of Public Satisfaction with Social Care

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FROM FRONT COVER)

The report highlights that social care services are under “longstanding pressure” stating that: “Following more than a decade of underinvestment and political neglect social care was hit hard by the pandemic and the effects on people drawing on social care and those delivering it continued to be felt well into 2022

“Most notably, workforce pressures have dramatically intensified For the first time since records began the workforce has shrunk and the vacancy rate in the sector has reached a new high with 165 000 vacancies in social care in England in 2021/22 1 This impedes the ability of care providers to return to the same level of provision seen before the pandemic with people struggling to access services and social care needs going unmet ”

GETTING THE CARE THEY NEED”

“NOT

People not getting all the social care they need was the most common reason for dissatisfaction with nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents choosing this option Respondents were also dissatisfied with social care because of inadequate pay, working conditions and training of social care workers (57%), the lack of support for unpaid carers (49%) while 39% said social care is not affordable to those who need it Contact with social care leads to higher levels of dissatisfaction Two-thirds of people who have used or had contact with social care either for themselves or for someone else were dissatisfied with it This is 20 percentage points higher than people who have not had contact

DISSATISFACTION

“ACROSS ALL AGES”

This high level of dissatisfaction was seen across ages income groups sexes and political affiliations

Older people (over the age of 65) and those on higher incomes were the most dissatisfied

Key findings of the survey were:

• Just 14 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with social care Dissatisfaction with social care rose significantly in 2022 with 57 per cent of people saying they were dissatisfied (up from 50 per cent in 2021) Dissatisfaction with social care was high across all ages, income groups, sexes, and supporters of different political parties People over the age of 65 those on higher incomes and people of white ethnicity were most dissatisfied

• The top reason for dissatisfaction with social care was that people don’t get all the social care they need (64 per cent) followed by the pay working conditions and training for social care workers not being adequate (57 per cent) and there not being enough support for unpaid carers (49 per cent)

• Dissatisfaction with social care is higher than dissatisfaction with the NHS overall or any of the individual NHS services asked about – general practice dentistry inpatient outpatient and A&E services Social care is also the service with the lowest satisfaction levels

ONLY 14% OF PUBLIC SATISFIED

Report author and Nuffield Trust Researcher Laura Schlepper said This year we boosted the number of people asked about their levels of satisfaction with social care services and the results are troubling Social care services are a lifeline and vital service to help people lead the lives they want to yet only 14% of the British public are satisfied

“The reasons behind plummeting and record-low satisfaction appear to be the product of decades of woeful neglect Broken complicated and fragmented services demoralised staff in short supply and the increasing strain on friends, family, and informal carers to pick up the pieces all create a sobering reality These results are yet another reason for politicians to replace words with action on social care reform

REFORMS “WATERED DOWN”

Sally Warren, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund said: “Satisfaction with social care services has been falling for some time but these latest findings represent a record low The strength of dissatisfaction the British public now feel is a clear reflection of the failure of successive governments to prioritise this vital service and a stubborn unwillingness to tackle deep rooted challenges in our social care system The public rightly recognise the large number of people whose needs for care and support are not being met, and the lack of appropriate reward recognition and support for social care staff

“Against this background, it is very disappointing that the current government s planned social care reforms have been watered down or delayed We can expect dissatisfaction to rise further still if social care provision continues to decline with people who draw on care and support their carers and those working in the sector feeling the pain of this