The Care Quality Commission's (CQC) "State of Care" report for 2023/24 highlights several challenges in adult social care in England:
Increased Demand and Unmet Needs:
There has been a rise in new requests for local authority adult social care support. However, the number of requests resulting in long-term or short-term care has not kept pace. Notably, new requests that did not lead to any service provision have increased by 27% since 2017/18.
Delayed Hospital Discharges: In April 2024, delays in discharging patients from acute hospitals were significant, with waits for care home beds and home-based care accounting for 45% of these delays. This affected nearly 4,000 individuals daily. While some delays involved waits for health services, social care was a substantial contributing factor.
Regional Disparities:
North East and Yorkshire: This region experienced the highest proportion of delayed discharges due to waits for home-based care. It also had the fewest homecare services per 100,000 older adults.
London: The capital had the highest proportion of delayed discharges due to waits for care home beds and the fewest residential care home beds per 100,000 older adults.
Staffing Levels: By the end of 2023/24, staff vacancies in care homes decreased to 5.4%, the lowest rate in three years.
International Recruitment Trends: While there was an initial increase in international recruitment, this trend leveled off during 2023/24. Notably, there was an 81% decrease in overseas workers applying for health and care worker visas between April and July 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Concerns About Modern Slavery: In 2023/24, the CQC made 106 referrals to partner agencies regarding concerns about modern slavery and labour exploitation, nearly tripling the number from the previous year.
These findings underscore the ongoing challenges in meeting the growing demand for adult social care services in England. Source: