Health care reform in the UK

Burnham recently launched what's being called the Big Care Debate, a radical reform of care and support servicesHealth Secretary Andrew ( please, call me Andy) Burnham recently launched what's being called the Big Care Debate, a radical reform of care and support services. The plan, detailed in the  Green Paper 'Shaping the Future of Care Together', is for everyone in England to have access to a National Care Service that is fair, simple and affordable

There's huge pressure on existing services. More people need care because they are living longer – in 1948 life expectancy was 66 while today it is 78. For the first time there are more people over the age of 65 than there are under the age of 18.

The current system is also unfair. Some people have to pay tens of thousands of pounds or sell their house, to pay for care. Someone with Alzheimer’s, for example, could have to pay up to £200,000. The National Care Service intends to create a level playing field and end the postcode lottery of care services.

The Big Care Debate will canvas the public’s and people who work in care and support services’ views on what the National Care Service should look like and how care should be paid for. Currently care is not free.

Chris Leslie, Director of Thinktank New Local Government Network urged the Government to get on with it.

“We are glad that Ministers are willing to have a serious debate on how we could fund a proper care service fit for the 21st century. But leaving this debate going and only responding in 2010 is, in our view, too late given the urgency for reform. We would urge Ministers to opt for the radical option and act more swiftly than the current timetable suggests.”

On the same day a new website called Best-care-home.co.uk launched to provide members of the public with a way of finding the best care home in England for themselves or their relatives. The site only lists homes that have a three star rating, the highest standard available, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).