Staff on a NHS hospital ward at Ealing Hospital in London
A MAJOR review of the health service described the state of social care as “dire” yesterday.
The government-commissioned report by independent peer Lord Darzi warned that a growing gap between people’s needs and those getting publicly funded social care in England is placing “an increasingly large burden on families and the NHS.”
“Social care has not been valued or resourced sufficiently, which has both a profound human cost and economic consequences,” the surgeon wrote.
With more people dying each year and many spending their final days in institutions, researchers argue that wider access to palliative care could offer a more humane and cost-effective alternative, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Under current policy, welfare cuts are just a small downpayment on future austerity, argues MICHAEL BURKE
