Following Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss’ announcement that she plans to divert billions of pounds earmarked for the NHS into social care, experts from the health sector have given their thoughts.

The foreign secretary told a Conservative leadership hustings in Birmingham that too much of the annual £13bn package committed for tackling Covid-19 backlogs was going into the NHS.

“I would spend that money in social care,” she said. “Quite a lot has gone to the NHS. I would give it to local authorities. We have people in beds in the NHS who would be better off in social care. So put that money into social care.”

According to CareTech Foundation chief executive Jonathan Freeman, the “chronic underfunding of social care is scandalous and the clear result of failings by successive governments to grasp the nettle on this vital issue”. 

“Any recognition by senor political leaders of the scale of the challenge and the need for urgent action must be welcomed.,” Freeman added, “but this is not an ‘NHS versus Social Care’ game – both need adequate funding.  As a sector, we won’t help the debate by pitching ourselves against the NHS in any competition for funds, particularly at a time of significant economic volatility.”

Nuffield Trust chief executive Nigel Edwards was unclear whether Truss meant cutting the NHS budget now to transfer it to social care, or simply focusing new money in social care when the current plans run out.

“Social care is in a terrible state, with staff leaving and companies at risk of dropping contracts. It does need more funding and it should be the priority in future,” Edwards added.

“However, the health service is facing a sharp decline in spending after pandemic funding stopped: the current funding gap of over £8 billion is already well beyond what it could possibly deliver in savings. Further cuts of billions of pounds would require closing down services and firing front line staff. The level of access to planned and urgent care would get worse, not recover or improve as current targets assume.

“Funding for social care needs to come from a sustainable source of revenue: getting it by suddenly cutting back the NHS is not the answer.”

Tim Gardner, senior policy fellow at the Health Foundation, said that years of underfunding social care in England has left many people without the care they need, while staff experience low pay and poor working conditions, and unpaid carers plug the gaps. 

“Further investment would ease some of the challenges in social care,” said Gardener. 

On top of existing funding plans, the Health Foundation’s research has estimated that an additional £9bn a year by 2024/5 is required to meet the needs of an ageing population, improve access to care and enable local authorities to pay care providers more to improve the quality of care and increase pay. 

“The NHS and social care are inextricably linked and having both working well together can help keep people well and reduce demand on the health service,” said Gardener.

“However, diverting the money intended to help address the NHS backlog into social care would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. While increased funding for social care would help free up beds and relieve pressure on A&E and ambulance services, this does not save the health service money and there would be consequences for patients waiting for hospital treatment and staff morale. 

“Rising inflation and government’s unwillingness to provide extra funding for recently announced staff pay increases have put even more pressure on already-squeezed NHS budgets. 

“The next prime minister will need to set out how their government plans to provide sufficient funding for the NHS and social care in the short-term, and bring forward a fully funded plan to grow and support the health and care workforce in the long-term. Failing to do so will leave health and care services in a constant state of crisis, at a time when people most need them.”

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