Distinctive, Valued, Personal. Why social care matters. The next 5 years

This document sets out the distinctive role and value of social care in the 21st century, when we are living longer, often with multiple health conditions that need a focus on the whole person and not just a single disease.

More of us need help and support to lead a good life. This applies just as much to younger people with disabilities and health conditions, for whom modern health care means longer lives, as it does to older people.

It should be a cause for celebration that the need for social care is a consequence of success - of the social, economic and scientific progress that has made longevity possible - not a reaction to failure.

The challenge now is to bring our services and systems up to date so they offer the right care and support, in the right place, at the right time