Trust calls for Primary Care Trusts to fund respite breaks
Ongoing research by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers & Crossroads Care is finding that many Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are not providing breaks for carers with monies given to them for that purpose by the government.
The government’s Carers Strategy announced that £50m would be given to English PCTs in April 2009 to provide breaks for carers.
However, this money was not ring-fenced and PCTs were not told by the government how much of the £50m each was receiving, rather it was slipped into their total allocation without any information.
Nevertheless, it is possible to illustrate how the £50m is distributed across PCTs by assuming that each PCT is getting the same percentage of the £150m as their total allocation is a percentage of the total given to all PCTs.
Since February, we have been disseminating this information publicly and asking The Princess Royal Trust Carers’ Centres and Crossroads schemes what their local PCT is planning to do.
Early indications showed a high degree of confusion among PCTs with some claiming that they had not received any monies and others advising that since it was not ring-fenced it would be used for other priorities.
Gordon Conochie, Joint Policy & Parliamentary Officer for The Princess Royal Trust for Carers & Crossroads Care, says: “Following research carried out by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care, we are very disappointed to find that only a few Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are using all of the money allocated to them to provide breaks for carers.
“Despite the government’s announcement of £150 million for carers’ breaks, PCTs in general have so far failed to prioritise carers’ needs, instead they have chosen to spend the money on other needs or to cover deficits.
“Without these vital breaks, carers can often reach breaking point where they can no longer continue, and their own physical and mental health deteriorates as result. Ultimately when carers reach this point, PCTs will have to provide additional support at additional cost, so failure to provide carers’ breaks is short-sighted.
“Once again, the recognition of carers and their substantial contribution is not seen as a priority. Given that the country’s six million carers already save the government an estimated £67-£87 billion in care costs a year, the Trust and Crossroads Care are calling on the government to address the issue by providing more detailed information and guidance to PCTs on how much of the £100m each will receive for carers’ breaks in 2010/11. We would also like PCTs to publically report on what they have done with their allocation and what services they are providing to meet the needs of carers.”
Some PCTs have not been replying to enquiries from our Carers’ Centres or schemes and therefore we have issued one hundred letters to PCTs asking for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI). Other PCTs have not received FOI requests because they are already engaged in discussions about what they will do.
To date, our preliminary findings are:
- 35 PCTs have said that they are not spending any money on carers’ services
- 16 PCTs have said that they are spending part of their allocation on carers’ services
- 6 PCTs are spending all of their allocation on carers’ services
- 26 PCTs have said that they are still in consideration
Although the NHS Operating Framework 2009/10 did include a paragraph asking PCTs to work with their local authority counterparts to produce a plan showing how they would provide breaks for carers, we would like the government to issue more information and guidance to PCTs.
We would also like PCTs to report on what they have done with their allocation and what services they are providing to meet the needs of carers.
Read our information on respite care
Published: 6 August 2009