James Mumford

Politicians are avoiding the real problems with social care

‘The smell would be even worse’, says Zoe, the social worker I’m shadowing for the week, ‘were it not for the clothes.’ Trying not to touch or breathe, I survey the mounds of sweaters and jeans and dresses interspersed across the bare floorboards. The place is a disaster — junk everywhere, filling the shelves, piling up the surfaces; the sound of broken taps from the kitchen; the living room a living ruin.

I’m on a housing estate in one of the Home Counties and we’ve been called out to see about putting in place a ‘preventative measure’ for Mrs R, a 90 year-old woman at risk of falls. Not having to leap Beecher’s Brook every time she needs a wash will reduce the likelihood of a hip fractures (bad for the NHS) — a logic even I can compute. So we’re there to measure up for a level-access shower.

But, in truth, measuring up for a shower feels like plugging a damn with a finger. Because Mrs R and her 40 year-old schizophrenic son who lives with her are evidently not coping well. Placing them in care — which might mean separating them — is an option. But, in Zoe’s view, ‘it’s not bad enough yet.’

That decision may be a close call. What’s a dead cert is that Zoe’s locality team are being increasingly overwhelmed with similar cases. As part of the Centre for Social Justice’s now two-year long review of older age poverty — which has released a report today — I’ve been placed with one of the most well-regarded, pioneering adult social services departments in the country. Yet even this one has a budget at breaking point and staff who are utterly swamped. ‘No more allocations’, the locality’s team leader radios back to HQ.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in