A new tax is needed
to ensure the UK has a properly funded health and social care system, doctor
and ex-Conservative health minister Dan Poulter has said.
The Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP told the Observer that
difficulties in arranging social care for patients was having a major impact on
hospitals.
Raising National
Insurance "offers one of the simplest ways forward", he said.
The Department of
Health said its plan to introduce a cap on care costs in England in 2020 had
not changed.
Mr Poulter stepped
down from his Department of Health post last year and now works as an MP and a
part-time doctor in the NHS.
He told the
Observer: "On the hospital wards I often see people who are medically fit
to go home, but who are forced to stay in hospital because of difficulties
arranging their social care package, or because of a lack of appropriate
housing...
"A long-term
plan to ensure a properly funded and sustainable health and social care system
is urgently required."
'Legitimate debate'
The government's
policy to limit care costs to £72,000 for the over-65s and younger adults with
disabilities were delayed from last April after councils, which provide the
facilities, wrote to ministers citing "enormous pressures".
But Dr Poulter, who
had been charged with steering the plan through Parliament, suggested the
flagship policy now has little chance of being implemented because of
increasing costs.
He said a
"health and care tax - perhaps introduced through raising national
insurance" would provide a guaranteed income stream and "allow a
legitimate debate about what is an appropriate level of taxation required to
ensure a sustainable funding settlement".
A 1p in the pound
hike in both employee and employer National Insurance contributions was used by
Labour in its 2002 budget to pay for a £40bn rise in NHS spending over five
years.
Dr Poulter's comments come after it was revealed plans are being drawn up that could see cuts to NHS services across
England to meet £22bn in efficiency savings by 2020-21.
The Department of
Health said it had protected the NHS in England by giving it an extra £10bn and
any changes would involve reorganising local services to improve patient care.
Addressing Mr
Poulter's comments, a DoH spokeswoman said: "This government is committed
to ensuring that those in old age can access care that is both affordable and
dignified.
"The position
on the care cost cap hasn't changed. Last year, a new timetable was set out with
the introduction of the cap in 2020 and we are now working with the insurance
industry and others to make sure we can introduce these reforms."
But Richard Murray, of the King's Fund think tank, said tackling the
"growing crisis" in social care would be a key test of Prime Minister
Theresa May's vow to lead a nation that works for everyone, not just the
privileged.
He said:
"England remains one of the few major advanced countries that has not
reformed the way it funds long-term care in response to the needs of an ageing
population.
"A frank and
open debate is needed on how to fund health and social care on a sustainable
basis into the future, recognising that a long-term strategy will exceed the
lifetime of a single Parliament."
SOURCE: NHS
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