The recent announcement of the NEC plans as part of the 10-year plan is a significant step, enabling the social care sector to work in true partnership with the NHS. The plan rightly acknowledges the economic reality, highlighting that “falls in social care, home, and community settings make up around 75% of the £2.3 billion NHS cost.” This recognition underlines the importance of investing in preventative care and community-based solutions to reduce avoidable hospital admissions.
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, commented:
“This plan ensures that social care is at the forefront of the way to release pressure from the NHS, recognising that fixing social care fixes the NHS. This is a step in the right direction before the full 10-year plan release.Together, these measures represent a major step forward in recognising social care not only as a key partner, but as a cornerstone of sustainable, urgent and emergency care. If implemented fully, they offer a real opportunity to improve patient outcomes, reduce system pressures, and support care providers in delivering safer, more responsive services.”
A central theme of the plan is the drive to improve hospital discharge processes. It sets out a clear ambition to “eliminate any internal delays to discharge of more than 48 hours in all settings,” ensuring patients are supported to move promptly into “appropriate rehabilitation, reablement or recovery support.” To facilitate this, the Government has confirmed a 3.9% increase in the NHS minimum contribution to adult social care, as outlined in the 2025/26 Better Care Fund policy framework. This additional funding is critical to ensuring that social care providers can respond flexibly to winter surges and discharge pressures.
The plan also commits to modernising care delivery through digital innovation. It pledges to “set new national standards for initial priority care technologies by March 2026 and publish guidance to support providers to implement technology effectively,” helping care providers adopt smarter tools that enhance independence and reduce risks such as falls.
Public health measures are also a focus, with the NHS working closely with care providers and local systems to “proactively promote vaccination offers to those who provide and draw on care.” The plan further ensures that “hospitals offer vaccination on discharge to any patients going into a care home,”, an important step to protect vulnerable residents during flu season.
Recognising the need to use care home and community capacity more efficiently, the plan calls for systems to review bed usage and return people to home-based care where possible to shorten unnecessary stays and free up capacity.
In terms of urgent response, there is a clear emphasis on improving coordination with social care. New arrangements are being introduced to “develop Single Points of Access (SPoAs) that accept calls directly from care homes and GPs, avoiding the need for 999 calls.” This is a vital shift that will support timely, appropriate responses without overburdening emergency departments.
Professor Green OBE concluded:
“The plan recognises that social care must be part of the solution in mental health pathways. It promotes the “use of the 10 high-impact actions for mental health discharges” to drive timely transitions from hospital to community settings, “supporting flow through all mental health and learning disability and autism pathways.” Showcasing that this plan will help the entire adult social care sector whether domiciliary care, residential, working-age adult or older person, a true change in the right direction for ASC and the NHS.”
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