A ‘ROOT and branch’ review is being called for of social care provision in Dumfries and Galloway.
South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth is pleased that Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership (DGHSCP) are to carry out a consultation on community hospitals, but believes it must go further.
He said: “Let’s be clear, the Health and Social Care partnership are only holding this consultation as a response to the backlash over the failure to re-open community hospitals. But the reality is, the system of social care in our region is broken and this review must go way beyond community hospitals.
“We need a root and branch review of every aspect social care provision in Dumfries and Galloway not just community hospitals. That review must also include home care and the reasons why we cannot recruit enough carers, the woeful lack of suitable housing, and the market failure of only having private care homes in the region.”
The politician wants to see ‘proper investment’ in social care, adding: “We don’t have enough carers to support people in their homes and care homes are closing. We must look at how we can start paying care workers a fair wage of £12 an hour, rising to £15 which would help with the recruitment crisis.
“There is also a need for a long term approach on housing. We have known for years there is an ageing population, yet there has been little investment in appropriate accommodation such as sheltered housing locally and that is impacting on the level of delayed discharge.
“The council and our social landlords need to revisit their housing strategy to assess how we ensure a better supply of housing options to allow older people to live at home longer.
“It will not be easy but we can’t go on like this, we need a radical rethink on how we fund and deliver social care across the region.”
