Age UK Response following the Publication of Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England.

Paul Farmer Chief Executive at Age UK said:

“We warmly welcome Lord Darzi’s report, which is extremely important as it sets the baseline for the 10-year NHS Plan to follow. Of course, it shows that there is a lot to do and in most respects, we'd much rather not be starting from here, but Lord Darzi and his team have produced a comprehensive analysis, based on the evidence, to help establish the priority areas for attention and improvement over the decade or more to come. 

“Given our ageing population and the fact older people are the NHS's biggest user group, it’s absolutely right that the report is clear on the need to transform the way in which they receive care. At its simplest, we need to organise health and care services in ways that support older people to live well at home, avoiding a hospital admission wherever possible. Age UK estimates that around a million emergency admissions of older people every year occur when the appropriate support is not offered to them at home or in a care home, or when injuries such as falls are not prevented. Older people who arrive in hospital then stay longer and are often stranded at discharge for want of care packages at home. The longer they are stuck in hospital the lower their chances of maintaining their independence. Sadly, this means they often lose both healthy life years and longevity itself.

“This reality is not good for older people and their families and is not good for the future sustainability of the NHS. Nor is the long term failure of governments to get a grip on social care, leaving many older people unsupported and at risk of deterioration in terms of their health. Transforming the care of older people so much more of it happens closer to home, and in a joined-up way that embraces social care and the voluntary sector too, must be at the centre of the pursuit of the Government's Health Mission. It's encouraging to hear the Secretary of State making clear in his recent speeches that he agrees. The evidence is overwhelming that this is what we need to do and at Age UK we look forward to working with colleagues across the system to help bring a much more effective approach about."

"Since what gets measured gets done, the Government must also address the gaps in the data demonstrated by the review, especially the lack of good measures for patient experience and outcomes."

"Lord Darzi has laid bare the scale of the challenge but he has also pointed up many of the solutions, giving all of us who care about the future of the NHS a great platform for coming together to make the changes that are required."

And on social care...

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:

"Social care and the NHS are really two sides of the same coin, especially for our older population. It is unusual for an older person who has health needs, for example long term conditions like heart disease, cancer or diabetes, not to have social care needs too. For this reason, it is essential that the 10 year NHS Plan for which the Darzi report establishes the baseline, sets out how we can ensure social care plays a full part in the joined-up care at home or a care home that many older people need.

"The question that arises though is whether it will be possible for the Government to do this without looking at how we fundamentally reform social care and pay for it across our society. At the moment Ministers tend to suggest that this is a second term priority, but it's not obvious how this bigger picture conversation with the public can be put off until then, given the interdependence between the NHS and social care."

"At the moment a lack of good social care means too many older people are ending up in hospital in crisis because we are failing to provide them with the integrated health and care services that would help them to stay well in their own homes. Then, too many are getting stuck in a hospital bed when medically fit to leave because there’s no social care to support them at home. It’s a vicious circle and one that’s causing enormous heartache and distress for our older population – and huge difficulties for the NHS too."

"It's therefore strongly in everyone's interests for the task of looking at how social care can be refinanced and reformed to start straight away."