What immediate changes will the new Labour government make?

Remember the convalescent home? Many run by unions and other bodies as well as local healthcare providers, and much cheaper than an acute hospital bed for those still not fit to go home. Perhaps some bright politician will reinvent them?

Remember Home Helps and residential nursing or care homes run by local authorities. The push to privatise, get cheaper services then austerity forcing l.a’s to sell properties. The mantra that privatised services are better isn’t accurate. People now pay for home care services, different staff all the time. No regard for the need for continuity, personal services when at our most vulnerable

Iam64 not only do home care services lack continuity, the prices are extortionate. £38 per hour seems well over the top. Weekends are even more.

I’m unsurprised at £38 per hour. These private companies aim to make a profit and given labour and admin costs £38 doesn’t seem huge.
Public services are not for profit and that should apply to social care as well

Iam64 I have a vague idea that care home fees and presumably home care costs were going to be pegged at £85k per person and then the State would take over …. Clearly unaffordable and unworkable? So much to sort out……

Sure Start Centres - as GG13 mentioned on the last page, down from a total of 3,620 in 2010 to 2,204 in 2023.

But funding for the centres is down by two thirds, so they can’t offer what they used to.

*Iam mentioned family centres or family hubs, some are still left, two in my city, one sure Start left, one Children’s Centre left. -all in most needed areas.

So it’s a very patchy picture.

Labour has an Early years childcare/education plan and Child Health Action Plan.

They have lots of plans Wyllow, but where is the money coming from?

Different places to where it would come from if the Tories win, neither have put forward fully funded plans, as you know.

We can’t afford not to invest in Early Years. The research is solid, countries that do have better outcomes

With more and more parents needing to work, so needing to use nurseries, the provision of good quality nursery/preschool education is a must.

ronib

Iam64 I have a vague idea that care home fees and presumably home care costs were going to be pegged at £85k per person and then the State would take over …. Clearly unaffordable and unworkable? So much to sort out……

That’s why I was tempted to vote for them at one time. I was going to post something I’d found on Wikipedia about it that I’d found. I’ll see if I can find it again.

‘Commission on Funding of Care and Support
In June 2010, Dilnot was asked by the government to chair the Commission on Funding of Care and Support.[11] He took a sabbatical from St Hugh's College from March to July 2011.

The commission published its report in July 2011. The commission's primary recommendation was to limit individuals' contribution to social care costs to £35,000, after which the state would pay. Currently, individuals who do not fit means-tested criteria can be liable for unlimited costs.

The commission's report was welcomed by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, and both David Cameron and Ed Miliband called for cross-party talks on the issue.[12]’.
I could be wrong but I thought it was in the Conservative manifesto at one time including help with nursery school fees. Then again my granddaughter is only nine so it would have been later than that.

GrannySomerset

Remember the convalescent home? Many run by unions and other bodies as well as local healthcare providers, and much cheaper than an acute hospital bed for those still not fit to go home. Perhaps some bright politician will reinvent them?

Yes that was such a good system. Our local ones were set in old houses in beautiful countryside. They were often donated by wealthy families but have been sold off now. It would cost a fortune to replace them.

The sale of those big old houses that became nursing and care for children and adults was always going to come back to bite .

Towards the end of her life DH’s mum was in and out of hospital and was often in a situation where we knew she was bed blocking. And this was someone who had the money to pay for care at home. At onetime a social car worker at the hospital interviewed DH and thought he was her husband. The right hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing. One time she was going into a care home for respite and a nurse told DH on no account to let her go to one of the care homes suggested as it wasn’t fit for purpose. The council ran care homes were excellent but closed down.

Nationalise the private care home industry. And without paying the leeches who currently own/run these places any compensation whatsoever.
They operate on a "pay up or you don't get" strategy and have greedily presided over elderly home owners (who hoped their family would inherit) having to sell their properties to pay extortionate care home fees.
And, in tandem with giving up the family home, there's the terrifying prospect of "what will happen if I'm still alive when the money runs out?"

Boris stood outside Number 10 and declared the care system would finally be fixed. Bloody liar!

Mae13 yes Boris was too convincing without substance or truth in the package. Do we ever learn?

I was told by a friend that it is possible to buy an insurance annuity to cover care home fees presumably based on age and health at the time of application. That would mean that care home fees would be paid even though the money ran out??

Oven Ready Plan 🙈
LA’s and Health were working cooperatively to identify the best ways to amalgamate and find adult health and social care. Cameron’s ludicrous austerity programme meant the experienced senior staff working on this were made redundant.
Now I guess it’s reinvent the wheel time -again

Problem is the government planning is short term, from election to election.
The Care System should never have been privatised, and should be renationalised, with proper governance and training for staff. Most importantly with sufficient funding.

It would pay dividends in savings in the NHS, relieving much of the pressure, as witnessed at my hospital, on the recent Dispatches documentary.

The Free-Market system doesn’t work for everything. It is not possible for profit to be made from Social Care.

Don't Japan have a ministry for forward planning [I'm sure I read about that years ago]. Maybe that's what we need.

What Labour could do immediately, which I think would be popular with the rest of us, would be to stop subsidising the food and drink in the House of Commons. It might not save much but it would show that they were willing to do their bit.

There were rumours on X/twitter the other day that Sue Gray wants to close all the bars in parliament...

Hope it’s true MaizieD but how will they entice the Hon Members in for late night sittings? 🤔

Ilovecheese

What Labour could do immediately, which I think would be popular with the rest of us, would be to stop subsidising the food and drink in the House of Commons. It might not save much but it would show that they were willing to do their bit.

Yay! Best idea yet. Our local Labour candidate is asking for suggestions. I’ll forward that one.

Best idea yet!