YHCAA Stands with our member the Independent Care Group: Social Care Cannot Be Ignored Any Longer
The Yorkshire and Humber Care Association Alliance (YHCAA) fully supports and reinforces the powerful message shared by one of the YHCAA members ICG’S president Mike Padgham, in his recent article: “Government listens to farmers and publicans – but social care is still being ignored.”
We join Mike in congratulating farmers and publicans on securing concessions from government. Their success demonstrates what social care has long argued: when ministers choose to listen, change is possible. But it also raises a stark question for our sector: what must social care do to finally be heard?
Adult social care is under unprecedented strain. Providers across Yorkshire and Humber—and nationally—are being hit from every direction:
- Rising costs and workforce shortages
- Reduced access to overseas recruitment
- Increased regulatory demands
- Funding that fails to meet the true cost of care
Without urgent action, we will see care homes close and home care providers withdraw services. Many of these organisations are small, family-run businesses rooted in their communities. Once they disappear, they will not be easily replaced.
Social care does not need another distant reform plan. We need action now.
- Fair and realistic funding
- Recognition of the essential role social care plays alongside the NHS
- A commitment to sustainability so providers can continue supporting the most vulnerable
A functioning NHS depends on a functioning social care system. Delayed discharges, A&E pressures, and hospital bed shortages are inseparable from the fragility of care services in the community. We stand ready to support the NHS—but we cannot do so if the foundations of social care are allowed to crumble.
YHCAA echoes Mike Padgham’s invitation to government: come and see the front line for yourselves. Visit care homes. Spend time with home care workers. Talk to providers who are fighting every day to keep services open.
Without urgent action, the cost of inaction will be felt not just by providers, but by families, communities, and the NHS itself.
Read Mike Padgham’s full article here: Care leader challenges PM, Chancellor and Health Secretary: “Visit the front line”