Today (2 March) Scottish Care and UKHCA has issued on open letter to every Health and Social Care Partnership, Local Authority/Lead Agency calling for them to take into consideration of the independent care sector when setting their budget. This letter also highlights the concerns surrounding funding for the homecare sector.
You can read the open letter here.
For further information or to request an interview please email [email protected]
Workforce Matters would like to invite you to attend our upcoming April event focusing on the challenges facing managers and supervisors working in social care. This event will take place on Wednesday 22 April from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at The Marriott Hotel, 500 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 9RR.
This event will take forward the conversation that has begun with the recent focus groups and will use the feedback provided to create a discussion paper on the various themes that have been raised. The event will have sessions delivered by both the Care Inspectorate and SSSC on the specific initiatives they currently have to provide support to those working in manager and supervisors’ roles.
There will also be opportunity to prioritise the areas that have been determined to be causing the most problems when delivering social care services both in care homes and the community. Due to the vast and complex nature of the challenges facing the sector we see this as an opportunity to highlight these issues as advised by Scottish Care members and for care providers and the workforce to decide what pressure areas require to be addressed first.
Please contact [email protected] to register your interest and book a place at the event.
A career in care is one where every day you can make a difference. Yet everyone who has any contact or connection with social care knows that we have a workforce shortage. In short, we’re talking about 29% nursing vacancies and a steady turnover for frontline care staff with a 24% attrition rate. If you fancy a deeper dive into the intelligence, both the SSSC and Scottish Care have written plenty on the subject and it’s available on their websites.
It is a critical time to raise the profile of the sector, recognising it for the vital role it plays in supporting the human rights of our some of our most vulnerable citizens and recognising its workforce for the skilled role they play in that as registered and regulated staff. Social Care enables people to stay healthier for longer, able to contribute to their communities and easing pressure on the NHS. I heard only yesterday about an 87 year old lady from a care home in Dumfries and Galloway going to local primary schools to teach German and French.
There is currently a national recruitment campaign for the sector, devised by Scottish Government and with contribution from many across the sector. It includes a campaign website and clear examples of career progression expressed by the SSSC, PR in the form of advertising and the promotion of case studies. A real opportunity to promote the many positives so often overlooked.
But this positive promotion has just had a coach and horses driven right through it by the Migration Advisory Committee and UK Government. Their complete and utter ignorance and underestimation of the critical role of the sector despite repeated warnings has led to the creation of a migration system which will see the care sector lose significant numbers of staff from the EU and beyond.
This is an action which has ripped apart families and caring relationships undermining the concept of continuity of care and the critical role which the sector plays. Whilst between 6 and 9% of our care staff come from the EU, this rises to as much as 40% in some parts of Scotland. Places where families have settled into local communities, where several members of that family might work in one care home taking on a variety of roles from nurse to carer, to handyperson and gardener.
Last month, the Scottish Government launched a report seeking for the option to introduce local solutions to address local challenges, this proposal was drawn from local evidence and systems which already exist in Australia and Canada, and could be implemented in any country or region of the UK.
Yet, by lunchtime the paper had been rejected by Westminster.
What is clear is that decisions around immigration need to be based upon facts and evidence, removed from any political rhetoric, whilst focussing on prosperity and wellbeing. There needs to be a move towards a more flexible policy which recognises social care as the skilled and vital service it is. It needs to accommodate the reality of regional difference such as the demographics of rural and remote areas, adjusting income thresholds to recognise a lower rate of pay outside of London, and also to allow for families to immigrate which means recognition of the contribution made by part time staff too. The system must not rely on funding from employers – the care sector is mostly funded by the public purse and this effectively produces bureaucratic duplicity.
There is also a need to consider the context for staff who may bring their qualifications with them come from abroad for instance, in supporting projects such as the one at Glasgow Caledonian University on migrant skills recognition to enable people to work in the care sector more easily, whilst also offering protection both to the workforce and those they care for.
The situation for social care is critical. Simple and effective solutions exist but cannot be implemented because of political jurisdiction made by those who are far from the frontline. To add another 9% to the social care vacancy rate risks blocking the whole system, an issue fundamentally of human rights given the catastrophic risk to people and their families.
Whilst our NHS colleagues have raised significant concern about what a reduction in social care would mean for acute services including NHS 24, the ambulance services and hospitals, I urge you also to share this message. For social care, for the people who access care and support, and the workforce affected by the proposals, we need to act now – time is running out.
Karen Hedge
National Director, Scottish Care
Read Scottish Care’s response to the UK Government’s immigration plans here.
Today (21 February) Scottish Care has issued on open letter to Jackson Carlaw MSP, Leader of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party, from Scottish Care CEO, Dr Donald Macaskill. It has also been issued to all other Scottish Party leaders.
The letter expresses Scottish Care’s profound concerns regarding the impact of the new immigration system on social care in Scotland. It calls for social care to be made an area of priority in order to ensure that we can continue to recruit social care workers from outwith Scotland.
You can read the open letter here.
For further information or to request an interview with Dr Macaskill, please email [email protected]
Scottish Care is extremely disappointed with the publication of the UK Government’s immigration plans. Whilst there are merits in the Australian Points based system the Government has failed to utilise the flexibility and regionalism options to the benefit of social care and Scotland.
Scottish Care has consistently highlighted the demographic challenge of an ageing population and workforce which Scotland faces.The care sector is dependent upon the tremendous skills and contribution of our migrant workforce. Faced with already critical shortages we need an immigration system which works. These proposals do little to address our significant concerns.
Dr Donald Macaskill CEO commented:
“Yet again we have a set of proposals which treat the critical role of frontline care as unskilled. This is offensive and these proposals are damaging. To presume anyone can simply do the job of compassionate and dignified care is deluded.”
“The salary thresholds, the language and qualification requirements are wholly unrealistic and simply don’t speak to the reality of social care.”
“These proposals have been developed by those who have failed to listen to the concerns of employers. They are likely to result in significant damage to the care sector in Scotland unless they are changed.”
“Instead of a progressive immigration policy which is aimed at enhancing the economic s and social well-being of our country we have presented here a system which will do irreparable damage and will impact on the lives of thousands of ordinary Scots who will see the loss and diminution of critical care services.”
Media links
Before the Scottish Budget Scottish Care had in an Open Letter (https://scottishcare.org/open-letter-to-finance-secretary/ ) called upon the Finance Secretary to recognise the significant fiscal contribution of social care to the whole Scottish economy. We appealed for an increased budget of between 3-5% to address the chronic underfunding of public social care services in Scotland. We are therefore immensely disappointed that the pleas of many across the sector have fallen on deaf ears and that the increased funding which has been announced will only be in the region of £69million. This is swallowed up completely when the increases in the Real Living and National Minimum Wages are taken into account. There is no funding for sustaining the sector to meet increased challenges.
Scottish Care agrees with COSLA (the local government association in Scotland) who have highlighted that the Budget whilst announcing £495m extra for councils also makes £590m worth of Government commitments which they have to carry out. Effectively local government which is already on its knees is facing a £95m shortfall.
Scottish Care Chief Executive Dr Donald Macaskill commented.
“The Scottish Budget is another huge disappointment. There is a critical gap between the political rhetoric that the Government cares for and supports social care and the reality of a funding package which does absolutely nothing to address the problems facing the sector. That reality is a critical and worsening workforce shortages, rising costs, increased levels of need and demand and an urgent need to invest, . The social care sector for older people in Scotland is teetering on the brink. This budget far from throwing it a necessary lifeline pushes us closer to the edge.”
I would like to invite you to attend one of our Scottish Care Workforce focus groups that we are holding in February around current issues and challenges facing Managers and Supervisors working within social care. The feedback that is provided from you, our members, at these focus groups will then form the basis for the next workforce event that we will be having in April, details to follow.
The next focus group is being held in Edinburgh on the 19th February 2020 between 2:00pm-4:00pm at the Randolph Hill Group, 31 Dunedin Street, Edinburgh, EH7 4JG.
Please can anyone interested in attending contact me at [email protected] to book a place.
As always your feedback and assistance is hugely appreciated and will be used to inform our research which will then be compiled into a Scottish Care workforce report for care providers and major stakeholders within the care sector including Scottish and local government to help to drive positive policy changes.
We will also be asking care providers to share their own stories of working as Managers and Supervisors in social care and the many demands and challenges that are currently being faced. I would ask where possible Managers of services bring Supervisors and Team Leaders with them to this focus group so that we are hearing directly from front line workers.
Thanks
Caroline Deane
Workforce Policy & Practice Lead
Workforce focus group agenda Social Care Managers and Supervisors challenges
New research by Scottish Care, the representative body for Scotland’s independent social care services, indicates that there has been a failure in the implementation of the Social Care (Self-directed Support) Act for older people accessing nursing and residential care home provision. Scottish Care argues that this poses potential equality and human rights issues in their latest report which will be launched at a round table discussion event at Glasgow Caledonian University on Wednesday 12th February.
‘The Future of Self-directed Care in Scotland Round Table’ is hosted by Glasgow Caledonian University in collaboration with SIKE (Social Innovation Knowledge Exchange, an Eramus+ project), the University of Stirling and Scottish Care. This round table discussion seeks to collate insights from key stakeholders in order to generate a Briefing Paper for policymakers in government and local authorities on future directions in self-directed care in Scotland.
The report titled ‘Rights at home: the Scottish care home sector and Self-directed Support’ highlights the importance of measuring the extent of self-directed support for older persons care homes. However, statistics show that most individuals accessing care and support in care homes in Scotland are not been given their full rights under the self-directed support legislation:
Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care commented:
“This research makes for sad and disturbing reading. It is quite clear that older adults in Scotland who find themselves moving into a care home are being denied their full rights under the Self-directed Support Act which is the main way people get social care and support in Scotland today. Five years on from the Act commencing older Scots are not being given the choice and control that others have. They are being treated as second-class citizens. This is wholly and utterly unacceptable and all stakeholders involved including national and local Government together with providers need to act on this as a matter of real urgency.
The unequal and discriminatory treatment of individuals on the grounds of service and age in the implementation of Self-directed Support where there is no justifiable and legitimate reason for this treatment is effectively a breach of the human rights of the individuals involved.”
Today (5 February) Scottish Care has issued on open letter to Derek Mackay MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work regarding investment in the social care sector.
Within the letter, CEO Dr Donald Macaskill calls for serious focus to be given to protecting and increasing investment in social care at a time of genuine risk of system collapse, in advance of tomorrow’s Scottish Budget.
You can read the open letter here.
For further information or to request an interview with Dr Macaskill, please email [email protected]
The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) are proposing a care home placement pilot around their campus areas (Ayr, Lanarkshire, Paisley and Dumfries). This includes care home providers that don’t currently support students but are keen to. This pilot will help support independent care home providers to become ready to support students.
Tom McEwan (Practice Learning & Partnership Lead – School of Health & Life Sciences, UWS) kindly hosted a webinar for us which discussed this pilot project, and provided an update about the new NMC standards for student nurses which will go live from September 2020, as well as their new Pre-Reg Nursing Programme. A recording of this webinar and Tom’s presentation slides can be found here.
For those who are interested, there will VC meetings on Tuesday 11th February across the 4 different university campus. There will be a morning session at 10:00am – 12:00pm and an afternoon session at 1:00 pm – 3:00pm in the following rooms.
Ayr Campus: Room CR1
Address: University Avenue, Ayr KA8 0SX
Dumfries Campus: Room W12
Address: Dudgeon House, Bankend Rd, Dumfries DG1 4ZN
Lanarkshire Campus: Room 2.1.10
Address: Stephenson Place, Hamilton International Technology Park, South Lanarkshire, G72 0LH
Paisley Campus: Room P121
Address: High St, Paisley PA1 2BE
Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] to register your attendance by Thursday 6 February.
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