BGS responds to Budget 2021

On 27 October Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered his first joint budget and spending review in the House of Commons.

Dr Jennifer Burns, President of the British Geriatrics Society, commented:

We are disappointed that the Government has once again failed to dedicate money to a sustainable social care solution. We know that older people up and down the country are remaining in hospital because the care they need to return home or transfer to a community setting is simply not available. Delaying discharge from hospital in this way is detrimental to older people’s health and wellbeing, and means the NHS has less capacity to admit people who need acute care or to clear the backlog of people who are waiting for investigations and treatment. Fixing the crisis in social care is fundamental to management of NHS resources and we are disappointed that the Government has not taken the opportunity presented by the Budget to do so. The Chancellor also stated that increased funding for the NHS will pay for a bigger, better-trained, more highly-paid workforce. While more funding is of course welcomed, details are needed regarding how this workforce will be recruited and trained. The NHS workforce was in crisis before the pandemic, and they are now exhausted and facing another extremely challenging winter. A long-term, sustainable plan is urgently needed to ensure that both the NHS and social care have enough well-trained people to care for our ageing population.”