Summary
The Lords David Prior and Lord Ara Darzi proposals to reform the NHS and to make social care free at the point of entry are designed to stimulate the debate on the way forward for these services which are critical to the population of the UK.
Whether making social care free would take the pressure off the NHS is debatable. It could be argued that it will only encourage greater use of social care. Those who work in the NHS will dread the thought of another reorganisation, and there is no mention of how much this would cost. I guess we will need to wait for the publication on the Green Paper on social care which has now been delayed, to see if any account has been taken of the proposals made by the lords.
Albert Cook BA, MA & Fellow Charted Quality Institute
Managing Director
Bettal Quality Consultancy
