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England is facing a social care “postcode lottery” with a huge variation in the number of people who access social care depending on where they live, a new study has found.
A difference of thousands has been found in the number of people who accessed publicly funded long-term social care depending on the council that funds their care, according to a study by think tank The King’s Fund.
Comparing local authorities with similar social and economic makeup, the study found that more than half of councils had variances of 20 per cent more or less people accessing care.
The gap was wider for working-age adults, with variances of up to 101 per cent in the number who access care between comparable councils and up to 60 per cent in care access by those over 65.
In one example given, the King’s Fund found in Thurrock, 7,680 older people per 100,000 accessed long-term care in compared to just 4,810 in Medway. This means that in Thurrock there are 60 per cent more older people accessing care compared to Medway despite being demographically and economically similar.
For working-age adults, however, Thurrock had 10 per cent fewer people accessing care compared to Medway.
The study comes after prime minister Andy Burnham pledged a major overhaul of social care services in the UK, promising to move towards a National Care Service, akin to the National Health Service, from 2028.
The King’s Fund has called for major reforms including “universal access” to publicly funded care, but with co-payments from those using it, a cap on lifetime care costs, a national rather than locally decided funding model for social care and clarity over what individuals are entitled to in terms of support.
Simon Bottery, co-author of the study and senior fellow for social care at The King’s Fund, said: “A national care service, which the prime minister has promised, must be genuinely national and ensure that all people, wherever they live, have the same access to social care support.”
“Our new proposals for an ‘equal access’ national assessment would help prevent this issue of unwarranted variation and ensure that access to social care support is not decided by your postcode.”
However, he said that reform of social care must go even further and ensure there is universal access to at least some publicly funded support and a cap on the costs people are expected to pay for care.
He said: “Currently, one in seven people aged 65 will spend at least £100,000 in lifetime care costs. We must also introduce fairer, national funding of social care, with greater choice and control for people and their families over how their care needs are met.”
“The prime minister and Baroness Casey’s commitment to reform is clear, but we are still awaiting the concrete policies that will turn this vision into a reality. To achieve that, their proposals will need to focus not just on who pays but on how the wider system operates on the ground.”
The Department for Health and Social Care was approached for comment.