A public consultation has been launched by the Department of Health around reforms for adult social care in Northern Ireland.

The reform proposals – numbering 48 in total – are the subject of the 16-week public consultation process now under way.

A central priority of the plans is to significantly enhance both the amount and the quality of social care services – with a major focus on increasing investment to meet increasing levels of need.

Growing the social care workforce and improving its pay, terms and conditions are emphasised as a “lynchpin” of reform.

Recommendations also include stronger powers to regulate and inspect independent sector providers of care – covering such areas as levels of profit and management costs.

The Department of Health also intends to review the current balance between private, public and voluntary sector provision in social care.

The consultation takes place in the context of projected massive growth in demand for adult social care.

Minister for Health Robin Swann said: “Northern Ireland has waited too long for reform of adult social care, and for the sector to get the recognition and support it both needs and deserves.

“I am determined to put this right.

“Our current social care services do provide invaluable support for many people and we recognise the contribution of our existing workforce and of the family carers without whom the system could not work.

“However, we know that there is growing demand for adult social care and that some aspects of the current system don’t work the way we would like them to. We need to address this and that’s why we need to change how social care is organised, funded, commissioned, delivered and led.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of adult social care services. Social care is not easy work, even in ordinary times, and these have been anything but ordinary times.

“Social care staff have shown real commitment to the people they support throughout the pandemic, responding to the situation with kindness, care and determination to reach the people who need them.”

The Minister continued: “I would encourage as many people as possible to respond to the public consultation and get involved in the discussion about these most vital of services.

“This review will involve a comprehensive assessment of the advantages, disadvantages and impact of a variety of different charging approaches, including the options of introducing a cap on costs faced by individual and families.”

The 48 proposals detailed in the reform of adult social care public consultation include major new social care legislation introducing statutory duties.

They include a review of the current balance in the mixed economy of care, producing recommendations as to what balance between statutory and independent sector provision should be; the introduction of increased powers of inspection and regulation in relation to overhead and management costs and levels of profit.

They also include a more proactive commissioning approach which will actively plan and shape service provision; a revised locality based model of domiciliary care; and improving the pay, terms and conditions of the lowest paid in the social care workforce.

To have your say as part of the public consultation, see https://tinyurl.com/2p97kzek.