Meeting of the Parliament 08 February 2023
I thank the Liberal Democrats for bringing the debate to the chamber.
Scotland’s social care system is being held together by the blood, sweat and tears of carers who are working for people who cannot survive without them, and I applaud them.
When I was first approached about the care that my husband would need when he came home, no one could give me the slightest idea just what that would mean, but questions needed answers. Discussion topics ranged from bathing him, to feeding him and clothing him. Possible changes to the house included altering the sitting room to a bedroom and ripping out the shower for a sitting bath. Phone calls from therapists involved trying to find out what the next steps would be.
What struck me from the get-go were the questions on my current situation. What did I do for a living? Could I work from home? What experience did I have? Did I have any health issues that would make it harder for me to care for my husband? Those questions were nervously asked, and nothing could mask the change of tone, sound of relief, and shift to positivity when I explained that I was already working from home and that council elections were on the horizon and I did not intend to stand again.
My husband finally coming home was entirely down to his hard work and family flexibility for care. I fully believe that his on-going progress has benefited from a comforting environment, familiar surroundings and the mental security that comes from his known space. Again, I stand here highlighting how lucky we are, but many are not so fortunate.
As of 30 January, there were 473 patients in interim care placements in care homes—473 people not experiencing that mental boost of confidence from being at home, dealing with life-altering health conditions and a change to their everyday routine, facing the unknown in an unfamiliar place filled with strangers. Imagine the fear.
I wonder how many people are in interim care placements in the minister’s constituency—people who are affected by the SNP-Green Government’s decisions, such as the decision to snatch back £331 million of Covid reserve funding, which was set aside for social care and could have made a massive difference. How can the minister look the people of Fife in the face when £21.5 million was removed from the Fife integration joint board? In the Fife Council area, three residents have waited more than 1,000 days for a care package to be implemented. One resident had to wait for 1,385 days—three months short of four years. Another waited for 1,370 days—wow! a whole 15 days less—and another waited for 1,067 days. Should that person be grateful that getting a care package took almost three years rather than four?
The care system needs urgent reform. Recently, we heard Dr Macaskill of Scottish Care press the argument that social care is community care and should be the primary source of healthcare in Scotland, because good social care stops people going to hospital. It is essential that community-based social care is driven at local level, because only in that way will the needs of patients be met.
The Government’s plans for a national care service simply cannot provide that crucial local element. The Parliament will be having this debate again in years to come, because the fundamental point has not been understood. Let us stop the folly of the national care service and focus on a local care service that has been reworked and redesigned, with local care workers at the heart of the change and invested in shaping a programme that works for them, so that they can keep working for the people who would not survive without them.