The gap in the quality of care between people who do and do not qualify for social care is continuing to widen. This was the finding of the latest report on the State of social care in England, published by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. People who do qualify for council support are now having a ‘better experience' than before, but those not eligible for support, and unable to rely on family and friends are, in the worst circumstances, becoming ‘virtually trapped in their own homes'. The report highlights how people are becoming ‘lost to the system' because they are not eligible for council-arranged services, and cannot purchase their care privately. They are struggling with ‘fragile', informal support arrangements and a poor quality of life. ‘People who, only five years ago, qualified for council-arranged help, are today excluded by the system, and left to fend for themselves,' CSCI chair, Dame Denise Platt said. ‘The poor experiences of people and their carers trying and failing to get sufficient help contrast starkly with those people who do qualify for council-arranged care.' But Anne Williams, president for the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, stressed that people not qualifying for social care services were ‘not left languishing' without any support at all. ‘Eligibility criteria are not the whole story when it comes to making sure older people and disabled people are looked after in our communities,' she said. Ms Williams pointed to the wide range of support available to them via local authority housing, leisure, travel, sport and culture services, ‘many of which are now the direct responsibility of adult social care departments', and the substantial amount of support provided by charities and third sector agencies, many of which received funding from councils.
