No NHS modernisation without social care investment, Royal College of Nursing says

Responding to a survey of adult social care providers which found 81% of councils are on course to overspend adult social care budgets, RCN Chief Nursing Officer Lynn Woolsey said:

“Overstretched staff working in social care have been sounding the alarm for years, but successive governments have failed to listen.

“When social care breaks down, some of the most vulnerable go without the care they need in the community. This puts huge pressure on an already struggling NHS, unable to treat patients or discharge them fast enough. On a clinical and economic level, it makes no sense. 

“The government wants to modernise the NHS, but you cannot do that by ignoring the crisis in social care. Sustained investment, at the level required to meet need, is the only option. We cannot afford for this to be kicked down the road once again.”