Adult social care facing most challenging year ever

Published by Professional Social Work magazine, 10 August, 2022

The year ahead will be the most challenging that adult social care has ever faced, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) is warning.

Only three per cent of directors responding to the Spring Budget Survey are confident they have the resources to deliver their responsibilities next year.

And only 12 per cent are confident about their resources for the forthcoming year. 

ADASS believes an average starting pay rate of £12.77 per hour is urgently needed to minimise local recruitment and retention challenges in social care.

The association has been campaigning for an adult social care living wage to be equivalent to the mid-point of NHS Band 3 for healthcare assistants. 

An ADASS spokesperson said: “The next 12 months were always going to be challenging, but existing concerns are being compounded by unprecedented external cost pressures, with inflation, currently running at nine per cent and predicted to reach 11 per cent by the end of the year, creating an even bigger hole in council finances.”

Key survey findings include: 

• 87 per cent of directors said they’d seen increased requests and referrals because of mental health issues
• 67 per cent reported increased requests due to domestic abuse and safeguarding concerns
• 73 per cent saw rising numbers of referrals and requests because of a breakdown of unpaid carer arrangements
• 82 per cent reported increased referrals and activity for people who were being discharged from hospital

A lack of community services is driving referrals around hospital discharge, according to 51 per cent of directors, who believe more investment should go into reablement, crisis response and other intermediate care. 

Unpaid carers

Nearly half (49 per cent) of directors are not confident that unpaid carers will be able to cope financially with the cost of living crisis and 75 per cent believe that this will result in increased need for social care.

Council budgets

Directors of Adult Social Services are expected to deliver £597 million in savings to their budgets for this year (2022/23), or 3.5 per cent of their total adult social care budgets. 

They have had to find £1.8 billion in savings over the last three years. However, only a quarter of directors are fully confident they can deliver the expected savings this year and six per cent report they have no confidence.

More than half (54 per cent) of directors overspent on their adult social care budgets last year, drawing on reserves or increased use of the council tax precept.

Recruitment and retention

Amid rising pressures 91 per cent of directors cite workforce recruitment and retention as a major driver of costs in care at home, and 85 per cent observe the same factors driving costs up in residential and nursing care.

Pay and recruitment are seen by three quarters (76 per cent) of directors as inflating the costs of care at home, and 59 per cent of directors cite lower than expected occupancy levels as driving up residential and nursing care.

Maris Stratulis, national director (BASW England) said: “We need immediate action from government, including a significant funding package and a proper plan to help protect and support the health and social care workforce in this country.

“Our members have told us time and time again that the system is at breaking point and that without intervention we will see more people denied the support and care that they need.

“BASW England calls on the government to act now and invest in adult social care, or risk a devastating crisis this winter and beyond."

A report summary is available here… and the full report is at the ADASS website.