Is there a crisis in social care?

Answer: yes and no, according to a recent Bevan Foundation-sponsored conference at the University of Wales, Newport. The conference, held on 2 November at the university’s City Campus, brought together a series of speakers to address, from different angles of expertise, the question of whether the care system is in a state of crisis. Speakers included Rhian Davies of Disability Wales, Chris Davies CBE, Robert Taylor of Age Alliance Wales, Mark Drakeford AM and Liz Lloyd of the University of Bristol.  Each addressed a different angle on the issues at stake.  Written-up versions of their rich and varied contributions will be available in the next issue of the Bevan Foundation Review.

But the day was not just about professional opinion.  These perspectives mingled with others, coming at the question from different angles.  The conference was attended by carers themselves, service-users of various kinds, social workers and health professionals as well as academics with backgrounds across a range of relevant disciplines.  The result was a consistently insightful and illuminating combination of points of view.  There were many themes, but a constant one throughout was this.  Care is stretched by lack of resources – and the funding of social care is in many cases drastically tight – especially for older people.  But it is also stretched by low morale and a sense of misplaced priorities among social work professionals and those (representing a very large ‘hidden’ workforce) who care for family members and friends – and low levels of recognition of the vital unpaid work done in the care sector.  Until we can address both sides of the coin – both the allocation of resources, and public recognition of the vital social place of care work – the question of whether there’s a crisis seems bound to stay on the table.

Gideon Calder, Reader in Ethics and Social Philosophy, University of Wales, Newport and Trustee of the Bevan Foundation