Debate contribution: Domiciliary Care Packages: Northern Health and Social Care Trust
Debate contribution by Dr Steve Aiken OBE on .
- MLA
- Dr Steve Aiken OBE
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 13 February 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- Domiciliary Care Packages: Northern Health and Social Care Trust
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4206564
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I wish you all the best in the Chair. Northern Ireland is not unique in experiencing rapidly changing demographics. As a society, we face a rising demand for adult social care services. The number of older people, the group most likely to need social care, is rising faster than the population as a whole, and that will cause profound challenges in the decades ahead. Indeed, it has been estimated that, over the next 20 years, the number of domiciliary care recipients is likely to almost double. It is therefore inevitable that increased funding will be required to meet the rising demands created by those pressures alone. While a huge capacity challenge may be coming down the track, the reality is that there is already a big shortfall. As has been said, the Northern Trust is one of the largest trusts, but it also has one of the largest and oldest populations. When there are pressures on adult social care, those challenges will be felt especially in the Northern Trust area. All MLAs, especially those in the Northern Trust area, are likely to have worked with many families who are waiting for a care package for a loved one. It is my understanding that the greatest level of unmet need for full and partial packages is in our trust area. Care packages are critical in allowing people to remain in their home or return to their home after a spell in hospital. When there are challenges in providing packages, as there currently are, the impacts are often immediately felt in hospital settings, as discharges are delayed. As we all know, hospital stays are far from ideal for older people who do not need to be there medically. There is no easy solution, but one thing that will be critical to the sustainable provision of care is a stable workforce. That is why it is important that we all commit to improving pay, terms and conditions for the social care workforce. It is a hugely important sector, and it is clear that we can do more to support and promote it as a career. Beyond the formal care providers, it is important that we do not overlook the vital role played by our informal and family carers. More than 200,000 people across Northern Ireland provide some form of unpaid care, and that number will rise in the coming years as the population continues to age.
408 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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