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Scottish Care & Age Scotland – Winter Support for Older People Statement

Organisations that represent older people in Scotland are calling on the UK and the Scottish Government to support older people through this challenging winter.

This winter will be as challenging as ever as we continue to respond to Covid-19 and the emergence of the Omicron variant. The Older People Network UK, a group of organisations representing older people across the UK, has recently released a statement calling for increased winter support for older people. This group, chaired by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, includes Scottish Care and Age Scotland, along with Age UK, Age Cymru, Age Northern Ireland , Independent Age, and the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland. Their joint statement highlights the following key issues across the UK:

  • Energy Prices and Fuel Poverty
  • Access to Food
  • Financial Entitlements
  • Tackling Loneliness and Isolation
  • Access to Health and Social Care Services

On the back of this statement, Scottish Care and Age Scotland are further calling on the UK Government and the Scottish Government to take the action necessary to support older people through this most challenging of winters.

Energy Prices and Fuel Poverty

Many older people across the country already live in fuel poverty, and the increased price of gas over the past months and the cost implications for customers of energy supplier which has gone out of business, has resulted in considerably higher fuel bills for many older people.

The Omicron variant and social restrictions also mean that many older people will be spending more time at home, increasing the need to heat their homes for longer. Without further support, many older peoples’ health and wellbeing will deteriorate, which will lead to further demand for our already stretched health and social care services.

National and devolved governments should increase the level of financial support available to older people, especially for those living on lower incomes, to ensure that they can keep their home safe and warm.

Access to Food

The risks posed by the Omicron variant means that older people may feel uncomfortable leaving their houses to go into supermarkets or use public transport to access food. The government should make a call to action to communities across Scotland to support older friends, neighbours, relatives and those in need, by ensuring that they have the food and medicines required to stay well over the winter.

Should food supply or supermarket delivery slots become limited, the UK Government and the Scottish Government should ensure that supermarket chains prioritise older people and other vulnerable groups for delivery slots and specified store-entry times.

Financial Entitlements

One effective way to support the most financially vulnerable older people over the winter is to increase the uptake of Pension Credit for those who are eligible.

Northern Ireland has successfully launched the ‘Make the Call’ campaign, which improved the level of uptake of Pension Credit and other financial entitlements. The UK and the Scottish Government should look into implementing a similar campaign. This campaign needs to be rolled out quickly and applications should be fast-tracked to put money directly into the pockets of some of the most vulnerable older people.

Tackling Loneliness and Isolation

Winter can often be lonely for many older people, especially for those living themselves or without families nearby. Whilst there are help and support available, such as befriending helplines, the Government should look at investing in widening the availability of these services and raising awareness of this support to the public and older people.

Access to Health and Social Care Services

The Covid-19 vaccine booster campaign and the continuing rise of Covid-19 cases will be placing increasing pressure on our health and care services. Some planned and routine treatments have been postponed and these treatments must be scheduled as soon as possible to minimise the impact on older people’s health and wellbeing. More also needs to be done to support older people while they wait for surgery.

Many older people will require continued access to social care support, in the community and residential care, including those who are ready to leave the hospital and return home. The social care sector is currently facing a workforce shortage, and the Government should utilise all available resources to retain and recruit staff into this sector.

To further alleviate pressure on health and social care services, investment needs to be made in local community and voluntary services to support older people’s physical and mental health. The Government should invest in these services to allow older people to stay safe and well at home.

Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care said:

“Winter is always a time of real challenge and pressure for our older population and especially for those who are supported to remain in their own homes or in a care home. This joint approach to the UK and the Scottish Government is a call for even greater focus on the needs of our older citizens. Few of us can remember a time of such challenge not least in social care support for older people and we hope that the suggestions in this statement will serve together to ensure that the right actions are taken to alleviate some of the worst harms that older people are experiencing. We must do all that we can to avert the potential tragedy and loss of life which may result if people go without food or heat and warmth because of poverty.”

Brian Sloan, CEO of Age Scotland added:

“There is no doubt that this winter older people are facing considerable challenges. The increasing cost of living and their imminent energy bills are causing high levels of concern and desperation, particularly for the extraordinary numbers of people on low income or in poverty. Many thousands of older people remain lonely, disconnected and anxious about this virus’s impact on their wellbeing. We cannot just wait out this crisis.  It is incumbent on governments to act now and take a range of actions to support those who are really in need.”

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Writing a new story in the Year of Stories: a reflection.

I discovered this week whilst listening to the radio that our national tourism agency Visit Scotland had launched the Year of Stories 2022 – a year which they describe as one where we celebrate stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. They go on to say that ‘stories are a vital part of Scotland’s culture, and every community has a different tale to tell. Shared stories, whether spoken, written, sung or filmed are what give a sense of place, history and belonging.’

As part of the Year of Stories there are already being organised hundreds of events across the country in museums, cinemas, community centres and visitor attractions which will focus on storytelling and the art of story. All of this in an attempt to capture the imagination, to entertain and inspire.  You can find out more on their website and by following the hashtag #TalesOfScotland.

I have written a few times about the power and importance of story and storytelling, not least in social care and in palliative and end of life care. I have reflected that stories are not just about a source of entertainment and escape, but rather that the real power of story is as a force for change and a tool to make a difference to our lives and communities.

But as I heard about the Year of Stories there were two stories which that day were uppermost in my mind, firstly Omicron and also the experience of living with dementia.

As I sat there I could not but reflect on the stories which I have been hearing and am still being told; these have been stories of this aching pandemic and of the response of the social care workforce and organisations to the Omicron virus. They have been stories of people separated again from loved ones in care homes struggling with outbreaks, of people in the community frightened of being supported lest someone brings the virus in to them, of family carers with nothing left to give such is their exhaustion.

This past week has been one of the hardest ever for anyone running a social care organisation or working in frontline care delivery. The levels of staff absence because of Covid have been crippling with some care organisations running with 25% absences, whilst the majority are experiencing absence rates of between 10-15%. What this means is not just a stretched service but an exhausted one especially the women and men who are now working double and sometimes triple shifts. They are drained to the bone of energy and yet they keep coming back to the frontline because they care and because they do not want to see those being supported whether in care home or community abandoned.

I have never before heard reports of such stress as those I have heard in the last week. And one of the things that is making it really hard for all involved is the constant drip drip of commentary that suggests that Omicron is a mild virus, ‘like the common cold.’ Now apart from the fact that we have been warned this week by experts such as the World Health Organisation that such comment is dangerous, the severity of Omicron does not really change the fact that because it is so infectious thousands of health and care staff are off ill or isolating and that those left are on their knees. A system can collapse through a mild disease just as quickly as through a severe one. In many of the conversations that I have shared this past week folks are despairing of the reality that as they are struggling ‘in the trenches’ the rest of the world has become dismissive and blasé believing that the pandemic is over, that we just have to ‘ride it out’, rather than taking the threat to our health and social care systems as seriously as they should. And that threat should absolutely worry us – any of us – who might sometime in the next few weeks want to call an ambulance, experience an emergency health incident, be worried about the health of a sick child or relative. If we do not take actions to protect others in this crisis then they will not be there to take action to protect us in our crisis.

As I reflect on storytelling in a week such as this I cannot help but remind myself that stories are not always works of fiction and make-belief, tall tales of impossibility and miracle. Stories are the happenings of our moments, the actions of our heart, the fruit of our relationships. We are not passive actors on a stage which we cannot control and using a dialogue we have no influence over. We are not the playthings of a writer beyond our ken, but rather we are the agents able to influence the outcome. In other words the real power of story is that the page is still unwritten and we have the ability to determine what is the ending to our most important stories. We have control in this Year of Stories of the story of our time, and that at this moment in this year is still the story of Covid. We can determine whether with the aid of reflection at the end of this year we look back and read of the folly of forgetfulness and the narcissism of self-interest, or we can read of collective solidarity and support, where once again we rolled up our sleeves and were present for others.

So as well as Omicron, as I sat listening to the plans for the Year of Stories, I could not but also think of the fact that it was my parent’s birthday that day. As a child it was a great benefit to have your parents’ birthday on the same day! Now that they are no longer alive inevitably it is now a day of reflection and remembrance. But it was also this year a day where – albeit on the margins of media stories covered that day – new research was published on dementia, the disease which took my mother from life and with which we had as a family lived with for years. The Global Burden of Disease report was the first international study of its kind and it was reported as stating that:

‘The number of adults living with dementia worldwide is on course to nearly triple to 153 million by 2050… Experts described the data as shocking and said it was clear that dementia presented “a major and rapidly growing threat to future health and social care systems” in every community, country and continent.”

It went on to state the substantial evidence indicating ways in which health and lifestyle could be improved and changed in order to prevent dementia which for the majority is not ‘inevitable.’ It also argued quite clearly that there was a need for major investment and research to ‘find a cure’ for a disease which will outstrip all as a threat to humanity and the quality of life.

To some extent this research tells us nothing those of us involved in the world of dementia did not know or at least fear. Its robustness and rigour is what is terrifying. But it also shows the way forward and the prospect of change offered to us.

I cannot be the only person who has marvelled at the way in which the global pharmaceutical and research community has come together and within an astonishing period of time has managed to find vaccines of such effectiveness and safety that we have prevented the Coronavirus pandemic from being even more disastrous than it has been, The vaccine discoveries have been an astonishing result of science and collaboration. Equally I cannot have been the only person, not least those whose lives are shortening as they live with dementia and those who love someone with dementia, who has not asked the question, ‘If they can do this for Covid, why cannot they do it for dementia.’

I am the last person to demean or diminish the dedication and energy of those over the years who have been involved in researching dementia and a potential ‘cure’, but I will be the first to question the moral priority of societies which continue to fail to invest and prioritise such research. I will be the first to call out the reality that when push comes to shove a disease that predominantly affects the old (but by no means exclusively) is deemed and viewed by society as less significant because of an inherent cultural and global ageism. That simply has to change. We must get serious and with the same international and national focus which brought us the Covid vaccines turn our attention to dementia.

In this Year of Stories, we need to be reminded that within us all is the ability to write a new page, to create a new ending which is of hope and change, restoration and light. In the dark winter days where in a care sector stress and exhaustion run rampant, we need to know that every change worthy of its name has been brought about by ordinary women and men deciding to change the story of their living. The power of story lies within each one of us to become a narrative which changes lives and improves community.

In this Year of Stories I hope we can use our words and actions for the betterment of all and not just the entertainment of a few. Because stories at their best, I believe, can change the world, re-orientate direction and motivate lethargy and tiredness.

Let us all therefore write a new story for this year and every year.

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Statement: Scottish Care welcomes changes to UK Migration System

Statement on Changes to the UK Migration System

Scottish Care welcomes the announcement from the Home Office that care workers will be added to the Shortage Occupation List.

See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-visa-boost-for-social-care-as-health-and-care-visa-scheme-expanded

We are pleased to note that the Migration Advisory Committee’s recent recommendation has been heard by the Home Secretary and implemented.

Our CEO Dr Donald Macaskill commented:

“This is positive and good news for the care sector in Scotland. Throughout 2021 and before Scottish Care alongside the Scottish Government and others has highlighted the real damage which has occurred following the Brexit decision and the implementation of new immigration processes at the start of 2021.

We are pleased that our overtures and meetings with the Migration Advisory Committee have helped others to appreciate the distinctive needs of social care and of Scotland in particular.

Whilst this falls far short of the open free system which the majority in Scotland desire and voted for, we call upon the Home Office to work with providers to make this work.

Our research has shown the significant costs of using the new scheme especially for small businesses of the type that make up Scotland’s social care sector. We need practical and financial support to address these costs and make the scheme viable.”

 

Our CEO wrote a thought piece for Migration Day last Saturday (18th) which reflects on the benefits gained from an international workforce.  The hospitality of welcome: the benefits of migration. – Scottish Care

 

Ends/

 

24th December 2021

 

 

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Covid-19 Vaccination Open Webinar Recording – 16 Dec 2021

We were delighted to welcome Professor Jason Leitch to our open webinar on Covid-19 Vaccination yesterday afternoon. 

Huge thanks to our National Director, Karen Hedge and Prof. Leitch for hosting this webinar and answering the questions from the audience. And thanks to the over 100 individuals who joined us for this session, we hope you found it useful and informative.

A recording of this webinar is now available to view below.

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Climate Action & the Social Care Collective Roundtable Series – Report

We are pleased to publish the Climate Action and the Social Care Collective Roundtable Series – Report.

The Health and Social Care Academy and Scottish Care held a series of roundtables series between August – October 2021 to discuss social care in a changing climate. The events brought together speakers with experience and expertise from various backgrounds to discuss several themes – understanding the challenges for climate action in the social care sector, climate innovation and solutions, a wellbeing economy, net zero and reviewing the climate principles and actions developed as a result of the series.

While there no one expert, it was evident there are many in the sector who are keen to learn more and engage. Over the course of the series, it was clear that based on capacity and engagement there are many other issues in the sector that take precedence to climate action in social care but there is indeed a desire for change.

Embracing a commitment to change that is driven from a rights based, person-centred perspective will pave the way for action and implementation that is meaningful and just. Achieving radical and transformational change is a collective responsibility and fair representation of the social care sector must be part of Scotland’s priorities. Bridging the gap between principles, action and the changes that need to happen in the wider system will involve changes to law, policy and practice. As citizens, we are connected to social and political systems and within the sector we will continue to demonstrate how incorporating social care in the climate debate must be a priority.

We hope the report is informative and is just the beginning of an important conversation for sectoral sustainability.

Climate Action Report
Climate Principles/Actions
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Entries now open for the 2022 Care at Home & Housing Support Awards

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting entries for the 2022 Care at Home & Housing Support Awards!

This is the perfect opportunity to recognise the achievements of providers, staff and service users in the Care at Home & Housing Support sector. The awards ceremony itself will be hosted in Radisson Blu on Friday 13 May 2022.

There are 10 different award categories to enter including:

  • Emerging Talent Award
  • Care Services Coordination/Administration Award
  • Care Learning Award
  • Leadership Award
  • Outstanding Achievement Award
  • Care Worker of the Year
  • Palliative & End of Life Care Practise Award
  • Technology & People Award
  • Provider of the Year
  • Positive Impact Award

Award entry deadline: COP Friday 28 January 2022

Good luck everyone!

Enter the awards here
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‘The Ingredients for Growth’ – Care Providers Experience of Regulation & Oversight

Today, Wednesday 24 November, 2021, the findings of a survey to care providers on their experience of regulation and oversight have been released in our report ‘The Ingredients for Growth’.

Imagery can help us to understand purpose, value and context; just as new shoots require certain ingredients to grow, improvement in care and support can only happen when the conditions are right.

For many, it has felt like the oversight arrangements introduced in May 2020 have created confusion in the landscape leaving the bodies involved trying to justify their purpose. Key themes running throughout the report are the need for clarity in the role and function of all parts of the system, and greater partnership working and consistency which includes recognition of sector expertise. Worryingly, this experience detracts from prioritising the needs and wellbeing of those in receipt of care and support.

Care providers raised several areas where oversight and regulation has failed, highlighting a serious lack of understanding of the context within which the care sector is providing support. This is evidenced through providers commenting on increasingly clinicalised approaches which disregard the distinctive role and purpose of social care; inconsistencies in grading; and a lack of objectivity and consideration given to the effects of the pandemic on the sector, not least on the morale and wellbeing of the workforce. While there have been positive experiences with oversight and regulation, these are often dependent upon relationships with the individuals involved. Interventions rarely recognise the work and changes that have happened over the past 20 months and heightened scrutiny increases challenges for staff and residents alike.

Going forward, a co-produced review and articulation of the purpose and function of regulation and oversight arrangements should be undertaken. Care and support are about people not systems; the review therefore must have a fundamental focus on creating the conditions for achieving the health and social care standards and the human rights-based approach which they embody. The process must recognise existing legislation, sector expertise, and the conditions required to implement arrangements and changes effectively. Scottish Care will continue to work closely with the Care Inspectorate via a longstanding joint working group and welcomes an invitation from the Chief Nursing Officers Directorate at Scottish Government to co-chair a short life working group to define and implement future solutions.

Read the report here
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Climate Change and Social Care Collective – Hot Report 3

On October 20th 2021, the Health and Social Care Academy (a programme of the ALLIANCE) and Scottish Care held the final event of the ‘Climate and Social Care Collective’ roundtable series.

The roundtable was focused on short, medium and long term objectives as it relates to climate action in the social care sector to help determine where immediate priorities should lie and how we can most effectively share our set of principles and calls to action to share with stakeholders following COP26.

The event was chaired again by Scottish Care’s National Director, Karen Hedge, who set the scene and placed the discussions within the wider context of transformational change.

Our first speaker was Lukas Hardt, Policy and Engagement Lead from the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll Scotland). Lukas spoke about what social care means in a wellbeing economy and what social justice looks like on a healthy planet. A wellbeing economy is comprised of four main principles – purpose (what is the economy designed to do and whether it is fit for purpose), preventative (an economy designed to deliver things the first time round), pre-distribution (wages and income that reflects social value people bring to the economy) and people-powered (change built on meaningful participation and community-organising). He highlighted how social care serves important human needs; it is a sector with relatively low carbon intensity and creates [green] jobs yet doesn’t get the growth it should, related to its’ constant undervaluing. Reforming the economy is a climate action, as improving how people are valued in turn promotes a more equitable society.

Our second speaker was Allan Crooks, Programme Manager, Energy and Low Carbon Heat from Zero Waste Scotland. Allan discussed current regulation structures, policy outcomes in areas relevant to social care (such as transport, buildings, waste) and how they relate to circular economics, the need to offset residual emissions in the sector, and current outcome indicators. We must address people, places, kickstart investment with long term market and regulatory frameworks that provide economic opportunity to better support the sector. There are several government delivery programmes such as cash back projects and small and mid-size enterprise (SME) loans available as support mechanisms to help deliver Scotland as a low carbon country. More of this information can be found in Scottish Government’s Net Zero Strategy as well as in Zero Waste Scotland’s Support Services page.

During the Q and A session, panellists were asked about the cultural shift required to have a society where health, wellbeing and sustainability is better understood and valued, encouraging cross-sectoral buy-in to address such broad issues such as transport and energy, and how to make information more accessible when learning where you can make an impact.

Examples of knowledge sharing platforms included NHS portals where good projects and procurement sit. While there would be definite interest and buy-in from the sector to adapt examples from other sectors to social care, it raised questions about how to accomplish this when the sector requires other conditions be met, not least on issues of recruitment and retention, fair pay, and contracts.  We want to set achievable standards in a sector (where procurement is largely market driven) with cross-sector buy-in. It needs to be easier for the sector to incorporate sustainable practice without sole pressure on individuals.

In our breakout discussion groups, we asked attendees to comment on the set of principles, co-written by the ALLIANCE and Scottish Care, that we believe Scottish Government should adopt in order to develop actions that can concretely be taken to deliver social care in a changing climate. These included:

  1. Human  rights and  equalities – Recognise that climate change is one of the greatest threats to human rights and guarantee a rights, intersectional and equality based approach for individuals who work in and receive care and support in a changing climate.
  2. Person  centred – Ensure that the rights, needs and preferences of people receiving and delivering care are at the heart of discussions surrounding climate impacts and action. Individual choice must be central to policy, practice, and delivery.
  3. Sustainable  and resourced - Investment in social care supports a greener, more sustainable sector. In turn, the sector must be well-resourced to ensure that any environmental commitment is underpinned across the sector.
  4. Collective, joined up  and interconnected – Develop cross-sectoral, collective, and joined up approaches that enable meaningful, sustainable, and long-lasting change to take place with understanding that the social care sector does not sit in isolation.
  5. Valuing care - Enable the highest potential of the social care workforce by supporting empowering and valuing the workforce for the distinct work they do. Prioritise investment in the workforce through improved salaries, upskilling and retaining talent and investing in their health and wellbeing.
  6. Participation – Empower, recognise and value the voices of those delivering and receiving care in decision making processes

A narrative commonly heard is that individuals need to be more proactive in offsetting their carbon footprint or taking action to help reduce their environmental impact. While climate-conscious individual choices are important, it is not nearly enough. We need collective action at every scale – from local to national (to global) – because private individual actions don’t create change at a sufficient rate to affect the problem in a timely manner.

Radical and transformational change is required. Bridging the gap between principles, action and the changes that need to happen in the wider system will involve changes to law, policy and practice. As citizens, we are connected to social and political systems and within the sector we will continue to demonstrate how incorporating social care in the climate debate needs to be a priority.

More information about the development and purpose of the roundtables can be found in Hot Report 1 and details of the second event on innovation and solution in Hot Report 2

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Finalists announced for Care Home Awards 2021

We are delighted to announce the finalists in the 2021 Care Home Awards. Thank you to all who submitted nominations and congratulations to all who have been shortlisted!

Winners will be announced at an evening Awards Ceremony, hosted by Michelle McManus and Dr Donald Macaskill. Please note that due to Covid-19, this event has been rescheduled from Friday 19 November 2021 to Friday 1 April 2022.  More information on the Awards Ceremony itself and tickets will be available shortly.