Today’s #SpendingReview again lacked a long term plan for #socialcare reform and funding. The £1 billion of additional funding for social care next year is unlikely to meet future demand for social care or the gaps in provision now.

It has been three years since the Government promised #socialcare reform – it is absolutely critical they deliver on this in 2021.

It’s good news that nursing and AHP students will benefit from additional maintenance grants and provision is being made to train more primary care staff including physiotherapists. We hope @DHSC will be working closely with @HEE on this as part of wider NHS workforce planning /

/hopefully linking this to the NHS People Plan.

We also urgently need more neurologists and specialists in neuro rehabilitation. For example, for every four neurologists in Germany there is only one in the UK @theABN_Info

Funding to speed up discharge of people with learning disabilities/autism into the community from mental health inpatient care in England is of course very welcome, although the £62m Community Discharge Fund was announced in July 2020 so this does not appear to be new funding.

We want to see key targets being set and met in the area of discharge of people with #LearningDisability and #Autism into the community so progress on this can be properly evaluated

The £200 million for the NHS in England to replace its oldest diagnostic equipment, including MRI machines and CT scanners again appears to be based on an announcement made in September 2019.

Lastly, the £5bn #Covid Emergency Fund for the NHS, #socialcare and to support vulnerable people seems small compared to what has, for example, been spent on #TrackandTrace and PPE. We hope this sum will be revised upwards given the rising needs of the most vulnerable in society.