Shropshire care company boss tells of heartache caused by ambulance delays
A company boss has said the care system in the county is “failing people” – with long waits for ambulances part of the problems.
The chief spoke to the Shropshire Star about the heartache of having to turn down local authority care packages because the business simply could not run on the money they receive from the council.
The chief said they have experienced ambulance delays of over eight hours and even had a paramedic cry on the phone as they could not get to a lady who was dying on the floor.
“I don’t blame the local authorities,” said the chief, who wanted to remain anonymous. “Their budgets come from up above and the council has to balance the books. No-one is stepping forward to sort it out. It feels like we are failing people.”
Councillor Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for adult social care and public health, called on the care sector to join the council in lobbying the Government for more funding. Mr Jones said: “Supporting the care market in Shropshire is vitally important.
“The care sector does a fantastic job in very difficult and testing circumstances, particularly over the last two years and we thank them for all they do, every day, to make a difference.
“This is another example of how the lack of fair funding for Shropshire hurts services, and does not recognise the extra costs we face as a sparsely populated rural county with a growing older population.
“I will be asking care providers to join us in continuing to lobby the Government on Fair Funding, and to help get the funding we need to run social care in a large sparsely populated rural county like Shropshire with a growing ageing population who will need more care.”
A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said that in April it increased payments to companies who provide social care by six per cent, which adds up to £7 million over the year to April 2023.
It is to help offset pressures social care providers face, including the rise in employer’s national insurance to help pay for the Government’s Health and Social Care Levy, and the increase in national living wage by 59p an hour.
Shropshire Council is next year budgeting to spend 53 per cent of its entire budget on adult social care.
In the county, 25 per cent of people are aged 65 or over, compared with the national average of 19 per cent.
Meanwhile, together with Shropshire Partners in Care the council is hosting a series of events in June to provide an opportunity for organisations to showcase career opportunities in social care.
The events will take place between 11am and 2pm at: Bailey Head, Oswestry on June 17; The Square, Shrewsbury on June 23; Castle Square, Ludlow on June 24.
The local NHS commissioning body the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin CCG said the issue is being seen across the country.
Mark Brandreth, interim accountable officer for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin CCG, said: “As has been seen right across the country in recent months, our services have been placed under significant additional pressure as a result of increasing demand and backlogs caused by the pandemic. We are working hard as a health and care system to meet these challenges and try to ensure we provide the best possible care for our patients.
“A great deal of cross-system work is being done, including with our council partners, to improve the discharge of medically fit patients from the hospitals into the wider care system, to create much-needed capacity within our hospitals.
“Our focus is across the three pillars of our improvement work:
1. Community-based initiatives to better support people in their own homes
2. Changes to processes and systems that improve the patient journey through hospital
3. Discharge out of hospital and community/social care support
“Addressing these three areas together will enable us to help more people stay well in their own homes for longer and ensure that those who do need acute care can access it in a timely way,” he said.
