According to AFP, in an interview conducted 1 week after taking office, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham affirmed that he would prioritize reforming the social care system.
I will promote the reform of the social care system as quickly as possible," Burnham said, while acknowledging that building a new system will take time, but expressed hope that it can still create significant changes during the term.
Currently, home care and inpatient care systems in the UK are provided based on assessing the financial conditions of users.
Unlike the British National Health Service (NHS) funded by the state budget - which is struggling with prolonged waiting times for medical examination and treatment and a shortage of resources - social care services for the elderly and people with disabilities in this country have largely been privatized.
Local authorities - the units responsible for providing services, are facing many difficulties in meeting the increasing needs due to the aging population.
The prolonged shortage of hospital beds and human resources at NHS partly stems from the fact that many elderly patients or those in need of long-term care cannot be discharged from the hospital due to not being provided with appropriate social care services.
The British Prime Minister also acknowledged the need to curb the increase in welfare spending, and said that the government will consider tightening the conditions for enjoying subsidies to encourage people to return to the labor market.
Mr. Burnham has pursued the goal of reforming the social care system for many years. During his tenure as Minister of Health (2009-2010), he proposed the establishment of a National Care Service funded by the state budget and provided free of charge at the time people use it, similar to the NHS model. However, this plan was not implemented afterwards.
