Let's turn the aspirations in the care bill into a reality

Bridget Warr, TLAP Board Lead for Self-directed support and Chief Executive of UK Home Care Association, argues that the health and social care system is not good enough for the older and vulnerable people who rely on services and calls for a debate about what needs to be done to turn the aspirations in the care bill into practical realities.

"There is a strong emphasis in the care bill on improving people's overall wellbeing, which shifts the emphasis from a remedial, 'deficit' based system, to one which seeks to take pre-emptive, preventive and supportive measures. There is a related vision of putting people's combined health and social needs at the centre of decisions about the shape of the services put in place to support them. There is, in turn, a recognition that this will necessitate a move towards a more integrated approach to the design and delivery of social and health care services.

But we can't just wish the changes needed into place - we need to make change happen. And understanding that there are finite resources, it's not just about making more money available, but it certainly is about spending the money that is already in the health and social care budgets smarter."