Councillor Alison Martin, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Care, reflects on why the future of care matters to everyone and encourages residents to take part in the Big Conversation on Care:
Now is the moment to think about care. Four out of five adults will need some form of care during their lifetime. That includes you, me, our loved ones, and our friends and neighbours. Most of us will care for another at some point in our lives. We know the care system is not right, for all that there are many heroic people trying to make it work. We need to get the care system sorted and for that, we need you to give it some thought.
For some of us, care is very much part of everyday life and we deal with a complex and fragmented care system over many years. Thinking about it happens every day. Now we need you to think about how, given your experience, you think it can be improved.
The Big Conversation on Care is the government’s national conversation about what a National Care Service in England could and should look like. Led by Baroness Casey, the consultation is asking fundamental questions on the future of care. It includes questions such as who should be eligible for state-supported care, what roles families and friends should play, what support people should be able to expect, and how we can pay for it.
These aren’t easy questions, but it’s so important that we all have our say on the future of our care services.
That future will affect almost everyone. So, I encourage everyone to have their say.
Find out more about the Big Conversation on Care and share your views on the Casey Commission’s website.