Journalist and political commenter, Frances Ryan, recently quoted in The Guardian, that social care is not only about the elderly and that it has also to do with children. Although it can be true, she seems to miss out the bigger point - the social care system is failing too many people in need.
The abandonment of children from hospital at discharge is a regular occurrence that has been going on for many decades, considering the fact that the state has passed on responsibility to parents a long time ago, according to The Guardian. What the state intends to do now is bring in carers among adult relatives in line with readily established social care practice for children.
Having said that, there is a widely denoted perception that the parent carers of disabled children, and their children, get the big share of the social care system. Although it seems true at first, it is the opposite that appears to be the real case.
The truth is, disabled children have lost out entirely to adult care, with families and children being abandoned by the state. The wider society comprising the people who view disabled people, adults and children as a waste of resources, essentially worsen the social care system problem.
On the other side of the fence, elderly or disabled adults are often relegated to non-existence, compared to the disabled children and their carer, usually parents and family. Statutory duty of social care towards these children are carried out by parents, which adults do not have towards other adults. The impropriety reflects the need for the government to make it more palatable for adults to care for their elderly relatives.
Addressing the problem, Meg Hillier MP, the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee mentioned in a news video on Belfast Telegraph early this year that review of the health and social care system is essential to bring a sustainable solution for the society. Others also share the same view, therefore, urging that proper change is needed in the law to bring adult social care in parallel to that of children's, so that they become legally responsible for the care of elderly or disabled relatives.
Despite the many sides of the failing social care system, the real villain of the social puzzle is of course, the government. Until ministers rediscover their moral conscience and release the necessary cash for care, the wider society needs to wake up and help the care system from crashing down.
