A National Care Service is an idea well past its time. The current system, dominated by corporations milking it ignored standards required by the local councils and health boards with fatal consequences during the pandemic.
Unable to deny the overall approval for such a system, Scotland’s media, fed by Cosla and the unions, seek to weaken it with this argument:
Councils would essentially no longer be involved in the delivery of social care – and complain that this could undermine local accountability.
They don’t like the idea of a “power grab” by central government, and are wary of the potential impact of tens of thousands of staff moving across from them to the new care service.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63542742
Accountability? Thousands died unnecessarily due to the inability of local councils to impose standards on the private sector and that weakness was reinforced by the MSM’s agenda, to somehow blame the Scottish Government via supposed failures by health boards and local ayuthories.
Here’s a classic example of how it was done:
In December 2020, BBC Scotland reported on three privately-owned care homes with Covid outbreaks and managed to avoid mentioning the owners. They did manage to mention the local health boards and the local authorities repeatedly.
Any reader would think they were council-owned.
That the health boards and the councils were fire-fighting the outbreaks by providing staff and resources at the tax-payers’ expenses got no mention nor, in one case, did a poor inspection report come to light.
Lomond Court Care Home in Glenrothes, is owned by HC-One. You remember them. The Skye care home where 10 died due to the use of agency staff from all over the UK.
Here’s the Herald report:
Here’s the BBC Scotland report:
Based on the above, who did it seem was responsible? NHS Fife? Fife Health and Social Care Partnership? Fife Council? Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman?
Is there much to say about HC-One? This:
Tax: https://www.wikicorporates.org/wiki/HC-One_Ltd
Deaths: https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/more-than-200-residents-die-at-hc-one-homes-in-scotland?top
Other incidents: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HC-One
Recent reports: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-54738341
It will take muscle to stand up to the likes of HC-One and make them staff properly, train properly, resource fully and implement health requirements fully. A local authority or a health board do not have that muscle. The deaths in 2020 tell us that. It will take a national system with the power to implement standards and where necessary shut them down. Unison and the GMB should know better.
Talking-up Scotland 
Totally agree here. I’ve heard some opposition msps saying (of course) that this isn’t the time for big changes, money should focus on cost of living crisis and care worker pay rises etc. Of course in 5 yrs time they would then be whingeing that the Scot Gov failed to set up a national care service as had been promised. Maybe since Boris Johnston’s claims to have sorted the care challenges they are scared Scotland will show up this empty boast for what it is?
off topic but on my mind – I noticed several disparaging comments about the Scottish Govt aim to offer “gender focused” funding to compensate poorer countries affected by climate change. The comments seemed to be equating this with the gender debate or as confirmation of Nicola Sturgeon’s obsession with gender related matters. At first glance I did think it was a bit “airy fairy speak” but then realised it just means focusing on supporting women’s projects, often forgotten or overlooked in massive aid schemes. How much better for a small country like ours to concentrate on smaller schemes in specific areas rather grandiose non specific allocations that are difficult to track and evaluate
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Not only do the Private Care Home Owners get a ”free pass’ from most of the media , they are routinely provided with a platform from the BBC/STV to
( ironically ) put the blame for THEIR profit-driven faults on to a relatively blameless Scottish Health minister .
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When people think of a care service they think of care homes and mostly for the elderly. Care services covers all aspects of care, including for people with disabilities and learning disabilities etc. A national care service would be welcome imo and I do not see how it would take care staff away from councils? Much of our care services are outsourced, for example some is delivered by charities across the UK, like Autism Iniatiatives, based in Liverpool, though administered locally, via social work etc. Scotland needs more bespoke care services, based in Scotland. Basically our council is paying for services delivered by a company/charity based in England, taht is where the moeny goes.
I was recently in touch with ‘Carers’ UK’ because they had a survey about carer services and carers. I contacted them to say how the ScotGov are supporting carers more especially financially, but they did not reply. They stick tot he ‘UK’ wide approach. However, receieved email today with results of their survey, their CEO appeared on BBC last night it seems. In the email they say,
‘While Governments across the UK have taken a range of actions to provide carers with help and support, much more must be done. We have set out several recommendations on how carers should be supported, from a funded National Carers Strategy for England to review and reform of carers’ benefits and investment in social care to support carers with adequate breaks’. NO mention of Scotland and what the ScotGov have been doing (with hands tied behind their back) to try to help unpaid carers.
I have shared info from the Scottish government about their national care service strategy.
There is an article from Carers UK about the results of their survey but the link is far too long and I don’t know how to shorten it to share. They are called Carers UK but they should be called Carers England, because it’s England they campaign for and are asking the ‘UK’ gov to, for eg, provide a top payment to unpaid carers’. No mention of the fact that the Scottish government already did that!
Why anyone would be against a national care service for all sorts of care, be it for paid carers or unpaid carers and those they care for, is beyond me. Unpaid carers have a very tough time and carers the ‘UK’ govs’ carers allowance is £66, a week, for minimum of 35 hours of care. It’s an insult and kick in the teeth quite frankly, but not surprising, and carers who do get CA, are no longer allowed a two week break from caring without losing their CA.
Here is a film about Scotland’s ‘vision’ for care in Scotland.
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Sorry for typos, I should be doing other things, and I am dyslexic on keyboards, why can’t they design them better, to be more bespoke, can’t be rocket science can it?
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