Latest news with #healthreform
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘A huge human cost': Labor criticised over delays to aged care reforms as waitlist grows
Labor is facing a backlash over aged care services as a delay to landmark reforms prompts calls for urgent funding for 20,000 additional home packages and warnings that a two-speed system is locking out poorer elderly people. The Albanese government lost its first parliamentary vote of the new term on Monday afternoon, when the Senate voted to establish an inquiry into delays for home care packages, including unmet needs and the wellbeing of seniors waiting for assistance. Proposed by the ACT independent David Pocock, the vote was supported by the Greens and the Coalition, and comes after the aged care minister, Sam Rae, rejected calls to bring forward an additional 20,000 home care packages. Labor's reforms to the sector, originally slated to come into force from 1 July, have been pushed back to November, delaying the release of more than 80,000 home care packages. More than 87,000 elderly people are on the waitlist for care at home, with wait times up to 15 months. Labor has promised an end to lengthy delays by 2027, with maximum wait times of 90 days. Sign up: AU Breaking News email 'There is a huge human cost to delaying the release of more home care packages,' Pocock said. 'For some people that means being stuck in hospital longer because they can't get the support they need to return home safely. For others it means entering residential aged care earlier than they otherwise would have, others are struggling at home without the help they need.' The push follows warnings from the sector that Labor's changes risk squeezing out elderly people with limited financial means. Tracey Burton, chief executive of Uniting NSW and ACT, told Guardian Australia early this month equitable access for poorer Australians remains an unmet promise of changes passed by parliament last year. After a royal commission and a taskforce report to the federal government, Labor introduced new rules requiring wealthier people to pay more for their care and boosting access to support services for people who choose to stay in their own home. Residents who can afford to pay for their own care do so using a payment known as a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD). The average RAD is $470,000, with the lump sum refunded to family members when a resident dies. Elderly people whose care is paid for by the government rely on a supported accommodation supplement, worth $70 per day. The Greens aged care spokesperson, Penny Allman-Payne, is set to chair the Senate inquiry. She said the difference in value between RADs and supported placements, combined with a shortage of available residential beds and a rationing of home care packages, has led to fears of a two-tier system. 'You shouldn't have to be a millionaire just to guarantee care in your old age, but that's exactly what's at risk from Labor's new aged care system. 'Far from fixing the residential aged care system, Labor's changes coming this November mean wealthier homeowners may soon be worth twice as much in revenue to an aged care facility as an older person who lives week to week.' In a letter to crossbench MPs, Rae said the government acknowledged high demand for home care places, and said it was expected to continue up to November. But he rebuffed calls for bringing forward extra places. 'We also recognise that waiting to access a [home care package] has a real impact on older people and their families, as well as on the care providers. 'The Support at Home program is designed to bring down wait times for care and deliver more tailored support, giving older people the flexibility and choice to stay at home for longer.' Demand for aged care services is expected to surge, with the country on track for a doubling of people over 65 and a tripling of those aged over 85 within 40 years.
Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Streeting's NHS plans are baby steps in the right direction
Some 28 years after Tony Blair told British voters there were just '24 hours to save the NHS', Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is telling the public that it's now ' reform or die ' for the health service. Blair was evidently wrong. Sir Keir, on the other hand, may well prove to be right. A post-Covid productivity slump, combined with a spiralling funding bill, an ageing population, and a mountainous backlog of cases awaiting care, have combined with the existing flaws in the structure of the health service to produce a serious threat to its continued viability. These trends are not new. The Conservative Party, over its 14 years in office, largely elected not to deal with them, kicking the can down the road rather than face the opprobrium that would come with reform of an institution so riddled with vested interests and political controversy. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, then, deserves credit for being willing to come out swinging when so many before him have meekly elected to decline the double-edged opportunity of reforming the NHS. The Government's new 10 year health plan recognises that there is no route forward for the status quo, and in its attempt to reckon with this has come up with some promising ideas. Ending the 8am rush for GP appointments by training more doctors, focusing on the prevention of illness as well as its treatment, making use of new technology to improve productivity, and publishing league tables that show which parts of the service are failing are all steps that would be welcome if implemented successfully. That, however, is the catch: 'if'. The idea, for instance, that the NHS should have a Single Patient Record to 'bring an end to the frustration of repeating your medical history to different doctors' is a good one. It was a good one, too, when the National Programme for IT in the NHS was launched in 2002, spent vast sums attempting to implement it, and then failed amid bitter recriminations. Similar things could be said of other ideas. The history of the NHS, to borrow from Adam Smith, has too often been a 'conspiracy against the public' on behalf of those providing health services. Sir Jim Mackey's comment last week that the NHS sees patients as an 'inconvenience' aptly summarised the attitudes and culture that must be shattered. Having spent the last year pulling together its plan, the hard work for the Government begins now.
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
You can't fix the NHS without fixing social care, Streeting warned
MPs have warned the Health Secretary that 'you can't fix the NHS without fixing social care' following the launch of the Government's 10-year health plan. Social care was described as a 'very significant question' hanging over the blueprint by the shadow health secretary. Speaking in Commons on Thursday, Edward Argar warned Wes Streeting he risks failing to 'seize the genuine opportunity' presented by the plan if social care is not also reformed. There were also calls to bring forward the end date of the Casey Commission, which aims to set out a plan to implement a national care service, in order to go 'further and faster' on social care. Mr Argar said: 'Unless we move faster to adjust the challenges of social care and put it on a sustainable footing, these reforms risk failing to seize the genuine opportunity presented.' Mr Streeting said: 'We're not waiting for Casey. The Spending Review gave an additional £4 billion to social care, and we're delivering the biggest expansion of carers allowance since the 1970s, significant increase in the disabled facilities grant. 'And the deputy prime minister and I will shortly be setting out how we will deliver the first ever fair pay agreements for the care workforce, building a real social care progression.' The Casey Commission launched earlier this year, with the first phase expected to report in 2026, although recommendations from the initial probe will be implemented in phases over the course of 10 years. Social care leaders have raised concerns over the potential timeline of 2036 for some reforms to be introduced. The second phase of the commission, setting out longer-term reforms, is due to report by 2028. Mr Streeting said social care 'has to be part' of neighbourhood health, adding: 'In the context of this plan, social care features because it has a role to play on admission avoidance and speeding up delayed discharges.' Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said a plan for the future of the NHS is 'welcome' but sought reassurance on social care. 'In 143 pages of the 10-year plan, there is only a passing reference to social care,' she said. 'Everyone knows that you can't fix the NHS without fixing social care. 'With so many people unable to return home from hospital to get the care they need, solving the crisis in social care is a huge part of moving care out of hospital and into the community.' Mr Streeting said: 'I hope the house is reassured by the action we've already taken on social care, that's greater funding, the expansion of carers allowance, increasing the disabled facilities grant, the Fair Pay agreements, and the role and the partnership that we will see with social care to deliver better neighbourhood health services. 'And I should also say, especially in the context of what we've been describing about the importance of data and digital connections and better systems, in some parts of the country the social care system is actually ahead of the NHS, making better use of data, joining up systems in a more effective and efficient way. 'And there's lots that the NHS can learn from social care as well as the other way around.' The chief executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green, also warned that the NHS 'cannot deliver this vision alone'. 'If adult social care is not put at the centre of delivery – not just as a partner, but as a leader – this plan will falter,' he added. 'The plan speaks to a future we've already been building. But vision alone isn't enough. Providers need clarity, investment, and status. 'Without a clear role for adult social care, this plan will leave a gap between policy and reality.'
The Sun
03-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
How the new NHS 10-year plan affects YOU – from fat jab roll outs to banishing the 8am GP scramble and AI docs
BRITS are about to see their beloved NHS transformed into the 'Neighbourhood Health Service' as part of the Government's long-awaited 10-Year Plan today. Ministers will vow to keep millions of Brits in England out of hospital and help them on their doorsteps before they fall seriously ill. 2 2 The future will revolve around local health centres open six days a week outside of hospitals and GP practices. People will be offered help from doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and even job advisers in the community. Services will vary locally, with some areas sending teams door-to-door to reach vulnerable and hard-to-reach patients. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting want to end 'perpetual firefighting' in hospitals that are buckling under the demand. The plan promises thousands more doctors, widespread use of technology and AI, and extra help with mental health, job advice and weight loss. It comes as Wes told The Sun Britain will be 'fat free' within a decade with more people given access to weight loss jabs PM Sir Keir said: 'It's reform or die. 'Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people's doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.' The Government wants to move the focus of the NHS away from hospitals, which have become overloaded. Since 2011, waiting lists have ballooned from 2.5million to 7.5m. Wes Streeting brutally slams Kemi AND Farage and demands Tories say sorry for how they ran the NHS in blistering attack The rate of four-hour A&E waits increased to 40 per cent from less than 10 per cent, and around three in 10 cancer patients wait two months or more for treatment, up from closer to one in 10. Public satisfaction with the NHS has slumped to a record low of 21 per cent. Ministers said that by 2035 the majority of non-emergency care will take place outside of hospitals. People will be able to get scans and tests, straightforward treatments, check-ups and broader life help from the neighbourhood clinics. Local hubs may also dish out debt advice and job support, ministers say. The Government has vowed to fix staff problems by hiring more doctors, encouraging UK medical training and rewriting doctor contracts to improve funding. What's changing in the NHS? A massive overhaul will shift care closer to home and ease pressure on packed hospitals. Here's what the new 'Neighbourhood Health Service' means for you: 200 new Neighbourhood Health Centres open 12 hours a day, 6 days a week Centres staffed by nurses, GPs, paramedics, pharmacists, health visitors, rehab teams, and more Clinics may go door-to-door to find illness early Most care outside hospitals in homes, pharmacies, GP surgeries, and health centres NHS app upgraded with AI doctors to answer questions, book appointments, take notes, and write letters More doctors, nurses, and dentists trained and recruited in the UK Dental graduates must work in the NHS for at least 3 years before going private More cash will be funnelled into working-class areas in a bid to shrink the health gap between rich and poor. Wes Streeting is dismantling time-wasting quangos to cut paperwork, save money and speed up changes to the health service. He has called for 'more doers and fewer checkers' and his department is dissolving the NHS headquarters to take supreme control of local health boards. And the NHS app will be turbocharged so patients can book their appointments, check waiting times, quiz an AI doctor or send questions to real medics via their smartphones. 'Makes the NHS simpler' The Health Secretary said: 'Our plan will turn the NHS on its head. 'By shifting from hospital to community, we will finally bring down devastating hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated.' Daniel Elkeles, chief of NHS Providers which represents hospital bosses, said: 'This is a win for patients who will be better informed and empowered to direct their care as never before. 'It makes the NHS simpler, ensuring quicker decisions and innovations getting to frontline services faster. 'This is a recipe that offers the prospect of progress where previous plans have faltered.' Finance experts warn the plans will be costly – but the PM and Health Secretary refuse to pump endless cash into the NHS without results. Many parts of the plan already happen in some areas but need to be rolled out nationally. Others have been promised in previous schemes, such as 2019's Long-Term Plan, but failed due to a lack of money or time. A 'castle built on sand' Sarah Woolnough, chief of the King's Fund think-tank, said: 'There is plenty to welcome but the public will want to know why it will be different this time. 'Unlike previous plans, this plan will not come with promises of significantly more funding or staff. 'We won't necessarily feel the changes tomorrow or even next year, but if the NHS and its staff are given the support, resources and political cover to deliver the changes the plan proposes, the health system could feel very different in five to 10 years' time.' The Government have said the cash to pay for the new service will come from the £29bn boost to NHS funding announced in the last Budget. The Conservative MP and shadow health secretary Edward Argar said the NHS needed "reform, not just more cash" and warned that Labour's plan had to be "real and deliverable for patients". Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the whole 10-year NHS strategy would be a "castle built on sand" unless ministers tackled what he described as a "crisis in social care".
.png%3Ftrim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Can Labour's 10-year plan finally fix the NHS? Join The Independent Debate
In one of the most ambitious health reforms in decades, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled Labour's 10-year plan to 'rebuild the NHS from the ground up' – shifting treatment out of hospitals and into local health centres and people's homes. The plan, published on Thursday, promises to transform the NHS from 'treatment to prevention,' prioritising early intervention, neighbourhood care, and digital innovation. Under the proposals, new health centres – open six days a week – will offer diagnostics, rehab, nursing, and even debt and employment support, aiming to reduce pressure on hospitals and bring care closer to home. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called it a 'once-in-a-generation' reform that will 'turn the NHS on its head.' But critics argue that the vision is far from new – and question whether it can be delivered without significant new funding, staffing, and systemic change. Think tanks like the King's Fund and Nuffield Trust welcomed the plan's ambition but warned that without clear delivery mechanisms, capital investment, and joined-up working between services, the strategy risks repeating past failures. Now we want to hear from you. Will Labour's 10-year plan finally fix the NHS? Or is it another big promise without the backing to make it real? Share your thoughts in the comments and vote in the poll above – we'll feature the most compelling responses in the coming days. All you have to do is sign up and register your details, then you can take part in the debate. You can also sign up by clicking 'log in' on the top right-hand corner of the screen.
