RSPH calls for reform to social care system to improve staff wellbeing and bridge skills gap
Author: RSPH 26 September 2025 1 min read
We're calling for changes to adult social care to improve working conditions and widen access to training for the workforce.
A new report, Caring About Health, published today by the Royal Society for Public Health is calling for reform to key areas of adult social care to improve working conditions and widen access to public health skills training for the workforce.
The current state of the social care system
Social care is one of our largest public services, but the system is falling short in supporting the health outcomes of the adults using it. This is in part due to budget cuts and underfunding, poor working conditions and a lack of support for staff.
The social care workforce are facing many issues which are attributing to high turnover, including a lack of training, strain on mental health and overwork.
We’re preventing hospital admissions, easing pressure on the NHS, and holding communities together. But we can’t keep doing all of that if we’re underpaid, overworked, undervalued, and rushed.
Focus group response from a paid carer
How can the social care system be improved?
The report calls for the government to introduce a national core training offer for all social care staff to bridge the public health skills gap, ensure career progression and improve staff retention.
It argues that this would help staff to spot health concerns earlier through interventions like blood pressure checks or mental health conversations to prevent hospitalisations and reduce pressure on the NHS.
To improve staff conditions, it recommends investing in mental health support for staff, connecting them to formal health services and improveing pay and working conditions. It also recommends the phasing out of 15-minute care visits in favour of care plans that reflect individual needs, and for the process of accessing care to be made easier.
The report highlights that these changes would support community-based care, tackle health inequalities and drive local economies.
We need to radically rethink how we see and do adult social care in this country. Caring for others is a hugely valuable service that not only benefits the care receiver but our society as a whole.
William Roberts, Chief Executive, RSPH
Our ambition as a nation should be having an adult social care system that supports care staff to enable people to live the best quality of life for as long as possible. As our analysis shows, we are long way from achieving that. However, with proper investment in training, progression and support for staff, we can equip the workforce with the public health skills it needs to go further.
We can’t afford to kick the can down the road any longer. That’s why it’s vital that we see social care as a core part of the Government’s plans for a preventative national health service.