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Meeting of the Parliament 23 November 2011

23 Nov 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Carers and Young Carers Strategy

Simpson, Dr Richard Lab Mid Scotland and Fife Watch on SPTV

I agree with Mark McDonald on that, and I add that the Welfare Reform Bill will not help matters, because some carers will lose their allowance as people will be excluded from claiming disability living allowance. There will be more problems coming our way rather than fewer.

I have one specific health question for the minister. The carers strategy mentions encouraging carers to get the flu jag. We are currently in the flu season, but what has been done to promote the jag? I have seen nothing much in the way of advertising, and I know that many carers are not aware of it.

One of the fundamentals is that care should be personalised, and that carers and those who are cared for should be treated as equals in the process. I acknowledge that the Government has done a considerable amount to try to engage carers in various situations. Earlier this year, I asked the First Minister specifically about emergency plans. I welcome the work that is being done with Enable Scotland in that regard, but we have a very long way to go.

I turn now to the issue of learning disability to demonstrate how we are failing. In 2008, the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability showed that there were 7,793 adults with learning difficulties and autism who were known to local authorities in Scotland and living with a carer, representing about 48 per cent of the adults for whom that information was reported. We also know that 4,000 individuals with a learning disability are in specialist learning disability residential care. That is fine. However, at this moment—as we are debating—there are 1,000 individuals with learning disabilities in residential homes for the elderly where the average age is well into the 80s and where the care packages are not suitable for younger people with learning disabilities. Of those 1,000 people, 400 are aged under 65 and many—if not all—of them have been placed in those homes as a result of the failure to have effective emergency planning in place. Once they are admitted, they do not leave residential care. I ask that that be looked at carefully.

We are all agreed that much greater emphasis should be placed on anticipatory and preventative care for both the cared for and the carer. However, although that can be quite simple to do, it is not happening. We know from Audit Scotland that the opposite is happening. The threshold for community care packages is rising year on year, and people now have to be in serious need of care before they can get a care package. The opposite of what we all want is happening, driven in part by the budgetary problems. Will the change fund solve that? We will see. I welcome the change fund and the fact that 20 per cent of it is to be devoted to carers. However, the change fund is already in operation. Will it change next year, following next year’s budget?

Another major issue that we all face is the integration of health and social care. The strategy tells us that carers should be represented on all the community health partnerships. I ask the minister what progress has been made on that. Will the charter of carers’ rights be published next month, as was agreed?

Respite is a crucial element of care. The minister has answered some of the criticisms that I was going to make about double counting. I hope that the data is now being collected accurately, as that was not being done well. I praise the six local authorities that have increased their provision, but some local authorities have cut provision, which cannot be appropriate. If they had maintained provision, that might have been adequate, but we know that what is happening is not adequate. There is a postcode lottery out there, which will be a real challenge for the Government.

Carer information on early diagnosis is critical. The Government has done quite a lot on that through the carer information zone, Care Information Scotland and the other things to which the minister referred.

Emotional support is also important, but we have a considerable way to go on that. At the moment, I am dealing with a case involving paediatric occupational therapy, on which I asked a parliamentary question. The waiting lists are up to 24 months for advice to a parent on occupational therapy issues, which is not acceptable.

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Meeting of the Parliament 23 November 2011

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