Care bodies fear little will change as plans for care service are scrapped
Third sector organisations have responded after the SNP ditched what became unworkable plans for Scotland’s National Care Service.
Social care minister Maree Todd axed the reforms after delays and opposition made them unfeasible in their current form.
While a National Care Service Bill will still go ahead it won’t include plans for a National Care Service as it stands.
Reforms will now be less impactful, said the Scottish Government.
The original plan was to remove social care services from local authorities into a new national body.
However third sector groups, as well as opposition parties, repeatedly questioned whether the government could afford to set up and manage such a service.
Sara Redmond, chief officer of development at social care body Alliance Scotland, said she was disappointed parts of bill have been dropped but social care should stop being treated like “a political football.”
She said: “It leaves an uncertain future and it remains unclear what social care reforms will be delivered. While it’s welcome that important parts of the bill, such as on information sharing, and a right to breaks for carers, will be taken forward, there are major areas that have now been removed, with no certainty on what will be delivered.
“As we have previously said, people with lived experience have invested huge amounts of time, energy and emotion into trying to make the National Care Service work. We cannot afford to let that effort go to waste by leaving social care in its current state.
“It is vital the development of plans ensure much needed reform to social care is delivered without further delay to meet what people deserve and stop treating social care like a political football.”
Todd has yet to set out how the bill will look after scaling it back but acknowledged the u-turn would be a disappointment for many.
"I want to reassure those people that I remain committed to the ambitions of the National Care Service," she told Holyrood.
She added that the government had made "significant improvements to social care during this parliament" and intended to continue this work.
Age Scotland’s chief executive Katherine Crawford said an “opportunity of a lifetime to reform how social care is delivered has been missed.
She added: “The challenges facing social care are only getting greater, with huge waits to receive it, an increasing number of people having their packages pulled overnight, and thousands of older people spending months in hospital because they can’t get the vital care they need and deserve at home. As it stands, this Bill won’t fix any of that.
“Without really fixing social care, the Scottish Government’s attempts to reform the health service will happen with one hand tied behind its back.”
A major blow to the NCS plans came when trade unions turned their back on them, despite being initially supportive.
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer, said: “The failure of the Scottish Government to get to grips with the key issues in social care has resulted in this mess.
“With over £30 million spent on developing a National Care Service that lacked vision, left service provision at the mercy of profiteers and not addressing low pay and poor conditions in the sector, it’s little wonder that workers lost faith in the government’s plans.
“Care sector workers won’t be celebrating this announcement and it’s yet another blow to their trust in Scottish Government.
“Carer’s rights and Anne’s law are important parts of the package and it is right they remain.
“If the Scottish Government are heading back to the drawing board, we would suggest they start with improving care workers pay and conditions, which will help alleviate the recruitment and retention crisis and in turn, ensure those in need of support receive the quality and consistency of care they deserve.”
