Baroness Louise Casey, chair of the government’s review of adult social care in England, hit out at the privatisation of the system and accused some private corporations of profiting from handicapped people and the taxpayer.
In an exclusive interview with ITV News, Casey said the NHS is failing people with learning impairments who she said are often overlooked by healthcare professionals and refused the treatment and support they need. She attributed these failures to the fact that people with learning difficulties die, on average, around 20 years earlier than the general population.
“I think the National Health Service, especially hospitals, are not able to properly treat and look after persons with learning disabilities,” told ITV News Casey.
She cited a recent example of a 70-year-old profoundly learning disabled woman who had a stroke and was admitted to a general hospital ward. Casey says personnel refused to let her carers stay with her, even when they understood her communication and needs. And she noted that examples like these reveal a Health care system that can be too focused on medical conditions and not enough on its larger obligation to patients who need extra support.
Private Care Providers, for Profit
Casey also hit out at the amount of private sector engagement in adult social care, saying it was a “mistake” to allow big elements of the system to run for profit. She was especially concerned about firms that were earning big profits from caring for people with complicated needs, yet were being subsidised by taxpayers.
“What I would object to personally on behalf of the taxpayer is what I call profiteering,” she stated.
Casey also raised concerns about the control of care providers by foreign investment funds, private equity firms and health care organisations. She said she thought that care services should, when feasible, be provided by organisations located in Britain, but accepted that removing existing providers overnight could disrupt important services for vulnerable people.
Demands for Social Care Reform
Casey claimed people with learning disabilities had been “completely forgotten” in the adult social care system, with families being left to negotiate a complex and uncertain system without clear information about the support available to them.
She urged the government to be more accountable, saying responsibility for vulnerable people cannot only be handed to regulators. It is due to produce its final proposals on the future funding and organization of adult social care in England by summer 2027, rather than the originally announced 2028 timeline.
Casey did not go into detail about a specific funding model but said politicians need to be honest with the public about the expenses of social care and look at how the current funds is being spent. Should private providers making a profit margin of between 12% and 15% be considered as value for money when planning for the future of the sector, she asked.
Government and NHS Response
People with learning impairments have a right to safe, compassionate care and the Department of Health and Social Care highlighted the substantial health inequalities they experience. It emphasised the roll-out of required learning disability and autism training for health and care personnel and the government’s pledge to create a National Care Service.
NHS England said it was dedicated to enhancing care for people with learning impairments and pointed to yearly health checks, specialist learning disability nurses in hospitals and changes to medical records to help staff identify patients’ specific needs.
Future of Adult Social Care in England
Casey’s assessment is intended to impact the future shape, regulation and funding of adult social care in England.
Ms Casey also announced that she will submit her final proposals on how social care should be handled and funded earlier than previously promised.
The report had previously been due to be presented in 2028, Keir Starmer said, but she will now do so by the summer of 2027 after the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged for a speeding up of the process.