27 October 2006
Implementation of last January's health white paper has been set back because of NHS deficits, the acting permanent secretary of the Department of Health has admitted.
'I know there's been some concern that elements of this agenda have gone off the boil, and it would be completely stupid of me to stand here and pretend there hadn't been difficulties over the past 12 months in terms of moving that agenda forward,' Hugh Taylor told the National Children and Adult Services Conference in Brighton last week.
'The financial shocks in the NHS, the reactions to those, the restructuring of the NHS: all of those have inhibited partnership working in some places. We've seen good initiatives held back, and I know how frustrating that's been,' he added.
He said the next year would bring fresh opportunities for the NHS and social services departments to work together and revitalise the 'care closer to home' agenda.
But the conference coincided with news of fresh concerns that deficit-driven NHS cutbacks and faster hospital discharges were resulting in further funding crises for social services departments.
Councillor Anna McNair, vice-chair of Hampshire County Council's health overview and scrutiny committee, told Public Finance that the council had recently discovered an £11m 'black hole' in its social services budget, created by a sudden surge in the number of elderly people requiring complex care packages in the community.
Many of those people had until recently been cared for in hospital, but NHS beds had been closed and patients were now being diverted to care homes that were inappropriate for the level of care they actually needed.
'They're not ready to [leave hospital] and they do in fact die,' she said.
Councillors and directors of adult services at Milton Keynes, Oxford and Slough councils have also reported serious increased pressures due to NHS deficits.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt told the conference: 'I know in some places the NHS is pulling out of services and you in social services are having to pick up the pieces.'
But she added that the shunting might also happen the other way round, as councils dealing only with 'critical care' needs could produce additional work for the NHS.
'We have to stop playing pass-the-parcel with services people depend on to live their lives,' she said.
PFoct2006
