Scarlett McNally: Exercise can do wonders for social care

We need urgent radical solutions for the crisis in social care, to prevent the collapse not just of the NHS but of the entire UK economy. Social care is facing extreme difficulties with funding and workforce shortages. Staff are poorly paid, and 10% of posts are vacant.1The UK has an estimated 10 million unpaid carers since the start of the pandemic.2 Hospitals are full, with patients who are sicker and frailer after pandemic lockdowns and have nowhere to go even when declared “medically fit for discharge.” This disrupts the flow of patients through hospitals, and the bed shortage leads to “corridor care” in emergency departments, with ambulances queuing to hand over.The situation is about to get worse: 19% of the UK population is over 65.3 In Northern Ireland the number of people over 65 more than doubled between the censuses in 2011 and 2021.4 Projections show that each person will…
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