National deafblind charity Sense today (04 August) responded to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership manifesto in which he announced plans that a Corbyn-led Labour government would integrate health and social care.
Kate Fitch, Head of Public Policy at Sense, said:
"We welcome Mr Corbyn’s commitment to an integrated health and social care service, as we know from experience that services working in isolation can have a negative impact on individuals. A move towards a more integrated system is a welcome step forward in ensuring that the needs of the individual are maintained within a more cohesive service.
However, for integration to be successful, it is essential that both health and social care are adequately funded. When councils are unable to fund appropriate care it leads to many older and disabled people missing out on the services they desperately need for day-to-day life. Inadequate social care has knock on effects and inevitably puts further strain on the NHS.
Linking up health and social care has the potential to help ease the burden on the NHS and provide more joined up care to those that need it. We look forward to hearing how these pledges will be underpinned with the sufficient funding that is needed to turn them into a reality.”
About Sense:
Sense is a national charity that has supported and campaigned for children and adults who are deafblind for over 60 years. There are currently around 250, 000 deafblind people in the UK. Sense provides specialist information, advice and services to deafblind people, their families, carers and the professionals who work with them. Further information can be found on Sense’s website – www.sense.org.uk
