Pessimism is growing in the NHS and social care as local leaders respond to mounting financial pressures, according to the latest quarterly monitoring report on service performance published by The King’s Fund.
For the first time, the report includes a survey of directors of adult social services in English local authorities alongside its usual survey of NHS finance directors. Both surveys suggest that the financial squeeze is beginning to have an impact on quality and access to services in some parts of the country. A third of NHS finance directors report that the quality of patient care has worsened during the last year and more than a third of social services directors expect to have to cut social care services over the next year.
Get the full story from The King’s Fund here.