WLGA responds to the Chief Scientific Adviser for Health’s report looking at the likely pressures on the NHS over the next 10 to 25 years.
Yesterday’s report demonstrates the impact that a growing and ageing population along with increasing numbers of people with multiple long-term health conditions will have on both the Welsh NHS and our social care system.
Both health and social care are under unprecedented strain but the report highlights that pressures will keep rising pointing to significant challenges ahead.
Responding to the report Cllr Huw David OBE, WLGA spokesperson for Health and Social Care, said:
We welcome the fact that people are living longer but the challenges of improving the care for an ageing population which is growing and enabling people to live independent lives for longer is one that we have been grappling with for some time. Yesterday’s report further highlights the important questions over how care should be delivered in future, and how we can best respond to the demands that will be placed on our essential services.
It is absolutely crucial that our response to these challenges treats social care with parity alongside the NHS as an integrated system. Many of the conditions that are projected to increase highlighted in the report are those that can be managed well in the community. This reinforces the need for investment in community-based services, focusing on prevention and early intervention to reduce the impact of illness and improve the quality of people’s lives.
Local government recently published its vision for social care in Wales which is in line with this ambition. It highlights the need for increased investment in home and community support, moving from health systems centred around hospitals, to health and social care systems focused on communities and community services.
We know that the biggest impact on health and wellbeing is in addressing the wider determinants of health and this means ensuring that councils are sufficiently resourced to fulfil their core purpose of supporting their citizens and communities to have the best start in life, to live well and age well.
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