The Government has launched a consultation on its 10-year plan for the NHS. It’s vital that carers and the essential local carer organisations that support them make their voices heard. We need to build a health system that works for carers.
Visit Change NHS: change.nhs.uk/en-GB/
Answer the questions to make change happen
(Carers Trust post on LinkedIn) Carers Trust on LinkedIn: The Government has launched a consultation on its 10-year plan for the…
Our NHS is broken, but not beaten. Together we can fix it.
The NHS has been there for us for over 76 years. But to make sure the NHS is here for the next 76 years, doing all it can to support the health of everyone, we need your help.
We want to have the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a lot or a little to say. Your views, experiences and ideas will shape a new 10 Year Health Plan for England.
This is open to everyone. If you are a member of the public or someone who works in health and care in England, ‘Start Here’, to tell us how the NHS needs to change.
If you are contributing as a representative of an organisation, complete the organisation questionnaire. This is an early opportunity to share your insights as we begin an extensive programme of engagement to develop the 10 Year Health Plan.
If you register your email address, we will stay in touch to seek your views as the 10 Year Health Plan develops.
I’ve just gone through the questionnaire
@Michael_CarersUK @Paola_Carers_UK
- is the Policy team and Carers UK answering the questions as an organisation?
- Will you amalgamate responses from the forum/from a cross-section of carers?
I urge everyone to read through the q’aire
I’ve not submitted my answers yet, but I’ve saved the questions and made some draft answers.
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As questionnaires go, it’s very limited and only asks if you’re a carer at the end. Otherwise there is no mention of carers at all. It’s very directive in it’s approach - clearly trying to get the answers they want rather than an honest appraisal.
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Yes, exactly @Charlesh47
This type of gloss + the general directive questioning suggests promotional rather than constructive/direct impact/partnered design and development FOR REAL change
in my view there needs to be a response about it’s limitations now before 'future planning solutions are implemented and strain the current-absence of resources ie place an even greater burden on the unpaid carers who are USED by the system
We want to have the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a lot or a little to say. Your views, experiences and ideas will shape a new 10 Year Health Plan for England.
This is open to everyone. If you are a member of the public or someone who works in health and care in England,
@Michael_CarersUK @Paola_Carers_UK - the Q’aire asks for general comments- positive ones and concerns about these three ‘shifts’
Shift 1: moving more care from hospitals to communities
Shift 2: Making better use of technology
Shift 3: Focussing on preventing sickness not just treating it
Each one of these places greater burden on unpaid carers, capitalises on our goodwill and love to be data-input, monitors when we are non-medical people and assumes the availability of resources.
This hugely concerns me
- having experienced Virtual wards at hospital discharge
- having experienced the challenges of the ‘community system’ for antivirals
It seems that these ‘shifts’ are seen as solutions to current problems BUT the operationalisation, timing, implementation of HOW is unclear. Without that clarity, existing non-existant-resources ie. unpaid carers will be under HUGE pressure…
Carer Trust, CarersUK need to be at that table and ensuring unpaid carers voices are heard.
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And each of those shifts will almost certainly put more NHS resources into private hands, taking more and more cash out of patient care and into paying investors. For every extra £1bn in resources going into private hands for NHS services, at least 2-3% ends up being taken out of patient care.
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Thanks Victoria and Charles for sharing your thoughts on the Government’s new engagement on the 10-year NHS plan. Yesterday Carers UK released the following press release in response to this announcement:
https://www.carersuk.org/press-releases/carers-uk-welcomes-huge-engagement-on-future-of-nhs-including-carers-voices-to-shape-10-year-plan/
Here is a quote from our Chief Executive, Helen Walker, which is included in the press release:
"We are excited to see this first engagement phase of the NHS 10 Year Plan, a process which will include unpaid carers and ask for their views about the kind of health service they want to see in the future.
"We wholeheartedly agree with the recommendations from the Darzi review which suggested there should be a “fresh approach to supporting unpaid carers”. Unpaid carers are critical to the NHS and the NHS is a critical service for them, but it’s not always set up to help carers and can make their lives harder.
“England’s 4.7 million unpaid carers provide the bulk of support for older, ill and disabled relatives, helping millions to live in local communities where they want to be. Their support is valued at £152 billion, the equivalent of a second NHS, but they also face greater health inequalities and poorer health outcomes.
“With one in three NHS staff also juggling work and care, there’s a real opportunity to create a service which truly supports families who provide unpaid care. We see this as a win:win situation - helping families and building an NHS which is fit for the future; delivering better outcomes for everyone."
In response to your questions Victoria, I’ll ask our Policy and Public Affairs team how carers will be involved in the consultation, apart from being invited to complete the questionnaire for individuals, and I’ll also ask if Carers UK will be completing the organisation questionnaire.
Thanks
Michael
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THANKS, @Michael_CarersUK - for this timely response to our questions, and to hear that there was a VERY timely press release. Bravo
Please could you pass on these additional thoughts to the Policy and Public Affairs Team
- Reality-check feedback is essential, especially for all areas (not just around the London area)
- People talking strategy can often take a top-down approach, But given the realities of today FIRST understanding how to improve support right now vs over 10 years is a priority. Otherwise it’s all just talk.
- A 1-3 year operational plan instead of a 10 year strategic plan would be MORE impactful! Also more believable in terms of budget allocations and political machinations
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Will do Victoria - I’ve shared a link to the whole topic with the Policy team so they’ll see your additional points. Thanks for these additional thoughts and suggestions.
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They are now talking about local centres for treatment now they have closed all the cottage hospitals. There used to be one in all the main towns in the New Forest, but they’ve all closed now. One with quite a bit of land was austioned off recently. We’ve seen special schools sold off, even police stations. I always said it was very short sighted to get rid of community assets!
@Victoria_1806 @Charlesh47 You make good points.
Locally we had a new Minor Injuries Unit open to much ‘fanfare of trumpets’ and the (now ex-) local MP getting lots of Photo-Ops claiming credit for it’s opening - despite the fact he had nothing to do with the project until shortly before it opened. We were all delighted as this should save a trip half way across the city to an A&E department at our wonderful Super Hospital (their words not mine), which has poor public transport links and a few hundred parking spaces for a venue with 800+ beds and over 2000 out-patient clinic appointment every day - from a very rural area with poor public transport. However, you’ve guessed it, Once open signs kept appearing… One read “We are unable to accept any more patients today due to lack of staff” (that was regularly on display by 11am and the Unit was supposed to be open til 8pm). The other read “no X-Ray facilities here today, please go to A&E” and if someone was deemed to need an X-Ray after waiting 2-3 hours to be seen they were sent to the nearest main A&E where they had to join the queue for a further wait.
Perhaps I will be regarded as cynical, however, this is just from experience - a new facility opens without the correct funding/staffing/equipment and yet it is supposed to operate at full-stretch after being heralded as a huge improvement to Service Provision. When will we see any guarantees that making healthcare more local will actually improve things for those in most need.
@Victoria_1806 I have been amazed at what you have been expected to do with regard to care for your Mum in the “Virtual Ward”. None of us Unpaid Carers should be expected to take Obs and record them and submit them via technology that not everyone is capable or comfortable using. What happens if a mistake is made and readings “look” OK and yet they are wrong and the patient suffers? What safeguards are in place? We all know what pressure Carers are put under to agree to a discharge from hospital for a loved one.
@Michael_CarersUK I note Ms Walker’s comment that the consultation ‘will include Unpaid Carers’ but where - other than right on the last page - is there anywhere to identify oneself as an Unpaid Carers let alone give specific comments from the perspective of an Unpaid Carer? I am sorry to say that Ms Walker’s excitement that Unpaid Carers will be involved appears a little premature.
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@Chris_22081 Very good point - there is a shortage of trained doctors and nurses. So even if facilities are open how can they be staffed? We have issues here as our local Surgery is swamped and a new one is being built - but just hope it can be staffed. Training does not happen overnight!
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Our local UTC (Urgent Treatment Centr) has just won awards, and I’ve been in and out in 15 minutes. Saving a trip to A&E in Southampton. Properly staffed they are amazing.
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@bowlingbun That’s VERY high praise considering all you know/have experienced BB!
Go on make us jealous - what did you see that worked / you’d highlight…
if they got it right there maybe it can be highlighted as a best practice example by Carers UK
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I have completed the survey and echo the thoughts of those above. It’s quite prescriptive and seems to point you towards what they are already planning, as opposed to hearing open views on possible change.
Re Shift 1: In my experience, relocating services to local communities is a pipe dream and will be unworkable and chaotic during the implementation process.
Re Shift 3: the preventative stage of healthcare is now too late for many of us! Could there not be a focus on managing the situation as it is NOW as opposed to working on a long term 10 year plan for those just embarking on their healthcare journey (to coin a phrase).
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I’ve had cellulitis a few times after my knee replacements. Sat in bed, not feeling very well, at midnight, I took one look at my leg and realised it was red, cellulitis! I went to the UTC at 8am, it’s under 2 miles away, free parking. No one else in the waiting room, as it was just opening, a sea of empty chairs! I checked in, my name was called, usual basic checks, they could see I’d been there before, pills in stock, course given, and out I went! It’s always nice to praise people when things go well, I always say how good they are. The NHS wanted to close our old hospital, there was a huge fundraising effort, to build a new hospital, including a few steam rallies. We dragged almost everything out of our sheds for them, only a mile away. The next day when I had to have a check up at lunchtime, the waiting room was full, so waiting time was longer. The League of Friends cafe wasn’t open either time but I know staffing it is difficult. The range of basic services are increasing, again partly funded by charity. X ray service is great, and there are others I haven’t used like colonoscopy and eye specialists. All serious issues go straight to A&E in Southampton.
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@bowlingbun Thanks for sharing - impressive!
There are a number of inpatient beds, upstairs, my battles with one of the Ward Sisters is well documented here, but having worked in hospital admin long ago in Australia I can see that they are always working at full pressure and there is huge demand for beds after the cottage hospitals and infirmary closed… with promises of more community services that never happened! The council are now selling off their care homes, in the New Forest we have one of the highest populations in the country. Then they wonder why people are bed blocking? In turn that meant huge pressures on carers.
Hello all
I’ve now heard back from our Policy and Public Affairs team and can confirm that Carers UK will be submitting an organisational response to the consultation on the 10-year NHS plan. Before we do this, we’ll be seeking the views of Carers UK members on this important topic, and we’ll be in touch when we have further details on this.
In the meantime, we would encourage you to submit your views directly to the NHS engagement team. For those who haven’t yet completed the survey, the question on whether you are a carer is the very last one in the survey.
Thanks
Michael
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Thanks @Michael_CarersUK That’s good. Given the budget today and the momentum of reviewing Carers Allowance, it will be important to have our voices heard.
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@Paola_Carers_UK @Michael_CarersUK
After the budget yesterday, I didn’t understand how the numbers worked so I did a few calculations…what I found and then what I read disturbed me.
this is what I see - AM I WRONG??
SEE Guardian Article Oct 30
Streeting accepted that social care reform remained a significant challenge to be tackled, admitting “you cannot fix the NHS without fixing social care”.
He declined to set a specific direction on social care in the short term, saying he hoped to try to build “a cross-party consensus” on how to find a solution. “We are also thinking about, as we build the long-term plan for social care, how best to create a degree of national consensus around the national care service in a way that we have done over the last 76 years with the National Health Service,” he said.
PLEASE let’s CONNECT DOTS: he’s referencing the NHS Consultation:
Our NHS is broken, but not beaten. Together we can fix it.
The NHS has been there for us for over 76 years. But to make sure the NHS is here for the next 76 years, doing all it can to support the health of everyone, we need your help.
KEY POINTS
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The Questions are now available in a downloadable format Word / PDF https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/projects/start-here
Now I realise that they are different for a healthcare PAID worker versus Unpaid Carer
-
Wes Streeting refers to the need for social reform and the consultation BUT NOwhere in the NHS Consultation, does it highlight the difference between the NHS and Social care
- To anyone who is not a long term carer MANY PEOPLE and the public assume that social care is free at the point of use, like the NHS. We all know it is NOT free
- The consultation does not interrogate the WHOLE picture. Social care is only questioned from the perspective of someone who works in social care and who offers their ‘idea’
To me, this is a major discrepancy. It is NOT obvious. I only realised this researching this last night. THIS is making me enraged, and depressed on behalf of those trying to navigate all this information.
- NOW It’s clear to me that the government has found a way to mitigate the overpayments scandal by increasing the headroom for carers to earn AND still not put Carer Allowance at the same level as the National Living Wage of £12.21/hour
- Unpaid carers who are able to work the full 51 hours (35 minimum care + 16 earnings cap) are paid less than half of someone working those same hours for an employer at National Living wage. Do we even think 16 hours will be possible? Or is this a mechanism to avoid potential overpayments
- We need a consultation on Social Care and its reform for a complete overhaul of the system - where is this?
Side note - I’ve a personal interest in advocating for other carers, so I do this research for my website. It’s taken me hours to sift and cut through to even write the table you see above and my article. It’s not rocket science calculations BUT to get to the clear meaning, means connecting dots and cutting through ‘soundbites’
Reading the Guardian article - I agree with Wes Streeting that BOTH NHS and Social care need reform but he’s referencing somethin that in its current format does NOT do that.
@Charlesh47 @selinakylie @Ula @bowlingbun @Chris_22081
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Thank you for all your hard work in this @Victoria_1806. I am going to spend a couple of hours mulling it all over and then may approach my (labour) MP for her views. 
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