The collection shines a spotlight on the scandal of people with learning disabilities held in long-stay hospitals, rising drug and alcohol deaths and other major issues requiring urgent government action.
The writings are published by Turning Point, a social care organisation which supports over 187,000 people a year with alcohol, drug and mental health issues.
Disability rights activist Tom Shakespeare and former health secretary Patricia Hewitt and are among contributors to Health and Care Futures: An Essay Collection.
This month, the government announced an independent commission into social care headed by Baroness Louise Casey which is set to report back in 2028.
However, Professor Shakespeare argues in his essay that another inquiry is not needed and that the ‘long-term care can’ keeps being ‘kicked down the road’. He calls for an end to the ‘postcode lottery’ around care provision, and for a £30,000 limit on lifetime care costs.
Other highlights and key messages from the essays include:
- A call to cut delays in moving people with a learning disability and autistic people from long-stay hospitals back into the community, as outlined by Professors Jon Glasby and Robin Miller from the University of Birmingham.
- The vital role of community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations in public service delivery. Patricia Hewitt warns of the negative impact of trying to meet 21st century needs with a 20th century model of health and care.
- Professor Marmot and Dr Jessica Allen from the UCL Institute of Health Equity emphasising the need for a more just society to achieve health equity. They detail the role of ‘Marmot cities’ – places where the impact of policies and services on health equity are considered before they are implemented.
- The importance of protecting children from all forms of alcohol marketing. Dr Richard Piper from charity Alcohol Change UK also says alcohol-free drinks should be advertised as substitutes for alcoholic beverages, not in addition to drinking alcohol.
The book also features commentaries by people who have first-hand experience of the health and social care system. Heather, who turned to alcohol after being raped as a teenager, says the referral system needs to be improved and that GP surgeries should provide advice on services that can help with dependency.
Health and Care Futures focuses on themes including the critical role of political and personal leadership; of collaboration and partnership; and the importance of social justice, solidarity and inclusion.
Turning Point says the essay collection underlines the importance of working together to mobilise the current complex, fragmented health and care system.
The social care organisation adds that coordination across systems is the way to deliver services that meet people’s needs, as close to home as possible with an emphasis on prevention and early intervention alongside treatment pathways.
Turning Point chief executive Julie Bass said: “Health and social care faces many challenges including widening health inequalities, stigma, and the emergence of synthetic opioids in the drug supply.
“These are complex problems that require cross agency partnerships that draw on the insight created by lived experience alongside the expertise of health and care professionals.
“This is the key to creating the conditions in which everyone can thrive, moving forward in their lives with hope and purpose, whatever challenges they face.
The shared experiences and insights in these essays show change is possible.”
Click here to download a copy of Health and Care Futures: An Essay Collection.
Contributors are the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt; Professor Tom Shakespeare CBE; Professor Jon Glasby; Professor Robin Miller; Isaac Samuels who is co-chair of the working group of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Adult Social Care; Michael Linnell who co-ordinates UK and Ireland DrugWatch; Turning Point’s National Safer Lives lead Deb Hussey; Dr Richard Piper; Professor Sir Michael Marmot; Dr Jessica Allen; Clare Wightman, chief executive of charity Grapevine Coventry and Warwickshire; Turning Point peer mentor Heather; and Olivia (not her real name) who spent years in long-stay institutions but now lives in supported accommodation managed by Turning Point.