UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Pledges Major Reforms to Social Care System

Kathmandu. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged major reforms to the country's social care system to reduce the growing pressure on the National Health Service (NHS). In an interview with the BBC a week after taking office, he said he would focus the major part of his political capital on this reform.

Burnham made it clear that he did not want to leave the government without making meaningful changes in the social care sector as long as he was in office. According to him, although the reform work will be expedited as much as possible, it will take time to implement the new system.

In Britain, the National Health Service is funded by public funds and treatment is available free of charge, but social care services for the elderly and disabled citizens are mainly operated through the private sector. Although local bodies manage the services, the service system is under pressure due to the growing elderly population and limited resources.

Due to the lack of social care, many elderly and dependent patients who should be discharged from the hospital are forced to stay in the hospital for a long time. It is analyzed that this has increased the shortage of beds and the workload on staff in the NHS.

Burnham had proposed to establish a free national care service similar to the NHS when he was the Health Minister in the government of then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009-10. However, that plan could not be implemented. He also mentioned that he has been committed to social care reform for a long time because his father suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Prime Minister Burnham also pointed out the need to control the growing social security and welfare expenses. He indicated that the criteria for receiving social assistance would be made more responsible to bring people who can work back to employment, expressing the view that the assistance system should be linked with those who utilize the available opportunities.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Keir Starmer had also made efforts to reform the welfare system. However, due to opposition within his own party, some of the proposed reform plans had to be modified.