Scottish Care has issued a pre-budget briefing paper ahead of the Scottish Budget this Thursday (14 December). The document makes the call for an urgent investment in the care sector in Scotland. CEO Donald Macaskill set out Scottish Care's views in an interview with STV News yesterday (Sunday 10 December). You can view the piece by visiting the STV player.
New Care Cameo launched on Human Rights Day
Sunday 10 December 2017 is UN Human Rights Day.
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being — regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
To coincide with this important day, Scottish Care is delighted to announce the launch of our latest Care Cameo – Human Rights and Social Care.
This, the 4th in Scottish Care’s Care Cameo series*, is written by Judith Robertson, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission. She highlights a range of challenges which are of real urgency to all who are concerned about social care and its future direction in Scotland.
Throughout 2017 Scottish Care has sought to argue the importance of moving beyond the rhetoric of rights to the reality of their delivery. This Care Cameo summarises that challenge with real articulacy and urgency. Its arguments should be the focus of all our efforts in
2018 and beyond.
It is time to bridge the human rights gap in social care in Scotland.
Care Cameo 4 human rights and social care
*The Care Cameos series is designed to present short but, we hope, challenging sketches of various issues and to provide a forum to encourage and foster debate on a whole range of issues important for the delivering of care and support for older individuals across Scotland.
CMA publishes final report on market study into care homes
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a new report based on its year-long market study of care homes across the UK.
The review focused on whether the care home sector is working well for older people and their families.
The report’s general findings include:
- The current system for providing care is not sustainable without additional funding. The CMA’s financial analysis of the sector has identified a funding shortfall of £1 billion a year across the UK because councils are paying fee rates for the residents they fund which are below the costs care homes incur. This has led to care homes propping up their finances by charging higher prices to those who pay for their own care (self-funders). On average, self-funders’ fees (£44,000 per year) are around 40% higher than those paid by councils (UK average).
- Beyond the challenges of continuing to meet existing needs, the sector must grow substantially as the population ages. However, uncertainty about future funding, including whether council fees will cover the full costs of care, currently means that there is not enough investment in new accommodation for council-funded residents.
- Many people choose care homes during an emotionally traumatic time, but the basic information and support needed is often not available to help them navigate the system and make informed choices.
- There needs to be greater protection in place for people in care homes. Residents and their families often find it difficult to raise concerns or make complaints, and the systems for redress and feedback need to be improved. There is also too great a risk of residents being treated unfairly, and in breach of their rights under consumer law. Examples of the CMA’s concerns include where homes are not being clear enough up front about their prices or terms and conditions, do not protect residents’ deposits effectively against the risk of insolvency, are not fair when asking a resident to leave or when they ban visitors.
Throughout the study, the Competition and Markets Authority have engaged with Scottish Care and members to better understand the particularities and nuances of the Scottish care home sector: its challenges, developments and how it operates differently to other parts of the UK. This has included focus groups and multiple telephone interviews, plus the sharing of Scottish Care’s research and reports.
Based on the CMA’s engagement with various stakeholders in Scotland, the final report includes a Scottish summary of the market study’s findings.
It identifies two broad areas for improvement in Scotland:
- Those requiring care need greater support in choosing a care home and greater protections when they are resident. Current and prospective care home residents must be able to make the right choices, and must be protected if things don’t work out as expected;
- Issues around state-funded care and the provision of sustainable capacity – the market must support the state’s intention to ensure that all those who have care needs have them met. This requires that the industry must be sustainable and incentivised to invest and modernise to meet future needs.
In light of these areas, the CMA have made a number of recommendations to the Scottish Government, the Care Inspectorate, local authorities, IJBs and the care home sector. These include:
- A programme of actions around clear and accurate information, supported decision making and awareness raising to enable people to make informed decisions about their options when choosing a care home and to ensure they are aware of their entitlements.
- Safeguarding actions to protect against infringements on consumer law, such as the development of detailed guidance for care homes and residents, stronger regulatory oversight of consumer law compliance and the use of model contracts between care homes and prospective residents.
- Improvements to complaints systems such as a review of access to advocacy services and closer inspections of feedback mechanisms.
The report also gives particular focus to the issue of state funded care and its sustainability currently and in the future. It clearly recognises the shortfall in state funding in meeting the cost of care and recognises the importance of investment in the care home sector.
Recommendations are made in this area for other parts of the UK. However for Scotland, the CMA explicitly welcome the ongoing development of a cost of care model for local authority-funded care and the planning and commissioning roles of IJBs. The CMA has therefore opted not to make specific recommendations other than to stress the importance of the ongoing assessment and monitoring of these actions to ensure they are delivering the changes required. The report emphasises:
“Our concerns around the delivery of state-funded social care are important, as the delivery of an effective and sustainable social care system must be maintained.”
Scottish Care will continue to work with partners and stakeholders around these recommendations.
Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO, said:
“Scottish Care welcomes the publication of the CMA’s market study, particularly in its articulation of the reality long described by Scottish Care – that there is significant and damaging underfunding of social care in Scotland and the rest of the UK. It highlights the impact of stripping tens of millions of pounds out of social care by Westminster and by Scottish Government, which can only serve to negatively and disproportionately impact on our older and vulnerable citizens. Current rates of as low as £3.42 an hour to support an elderly person with multiple and complex needs for 24 hours, 7 days a week in a care home in Scotland in no way meets the true cost of providing high quality, sustainable care. It is absolutely essential that this funding reality is addressed as a matter of urgency in order that everyone who requires care home support can receive this in a way that promotes equality, transparency, dignity and respect.”
The full CMA report can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a1fdf30e5274a750b82533a/care-homes-market-study-final-report.pdf
The Scottish summary can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a201ae7ed915d458b922ec6/scotland-short-summary-care-homes-market-study.pdf
The CMA’s financial report, published in September, can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/59b2bb0ae5274a5cfcda2d18/financial_analysis_working_paper.pdf
Care Home Conference materials now available
New Care Cameo launched: Human rights and dementia
Media statement: Scottish Care warns of human rights complacency in Scotland
Care body warns of human rights complacency in Scotland
The representative body for independent care services has called on the Scottish Government to make human rights meaningful for older people in Scotland, including those living with dementia.
Scottish Care has today warned that Scotland is becoming ‘complacent’ in protecting against everyday human rights abuses for vulnerable citizens through a lack of action.
The call for action will be made at an event in Glasgow today (29 Nov), which will bring together stakeholders from across health and social care to explore the realities of human rights for care delivery in Scotland.
At the event, Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill will tell delegates:
“Human rights complacency happens when people delude themselves into thinking that the articulation of rights is equivalent to the realisation of those rights. Merely having excellent human rights based legislation does not give citizens the ability to realise and access those self-same human rights.
“In too many instances, such as Self-directed Support, we talk a good game in Scotland but the reality is less than what we would desire.
“The failure to invest, to monitor, to hold accountable and to hold to task those who have acted against the human rights enshrined within the Self-directed Support Act should shame us all. The peril of human rights complacency is that we issue an Audit report, utter some rebuke, gain some negative media headlines, but effectively fail to really challenge and change the systemic breach of those human rights.
“So today across Scotland we will still have instances where hundreds of older people will fail to be properly assessed, informed of what budget they have to spend, be given real choice for their care and support, and if they want to, be able to alter that package of care and do something new and different. For too many there is no choice. No transparent offering of information to enable folks to make decisions. Rather, there is a complacent attitude that the old don’t want the fuss or trouble of taking control of their lives.”
The event will also see the launch of a new fund, made available by Scottish Care and Life Changes Trust, aimed at making rights real for people with dementia living in care homes.
Speaking about the Rights Made Real fund, which care home services can apply for, Dr Macaskill said:
“I am delighted that Life Changes Trust has dedicated £300,000 to work alongside Scottish Care to further embed human rights in Scotland’s care homes. I look forward to seeing a whole range of creative projects which will help care homes to get even better at delivering a human-rights based approach to care.”
Anna Buchanan, Programme Director at Life Changes Trust, added:
“The funding on offer from the Life Changes Trust is for initiatives in care homes that demonstrate better ways of making rights real for people who live there. Care home residents still have a life to live and they have the right to thrive. Older people, including those living with dementia, have a right to maintain strong connections with family and friends, with their communities and with the things that matter to them. They do not give up these rights when they cross the threshold of a care home. We are looking to fund creative and innovative projects and ways of working that will benefit people living with dementia and show others how to make rights real in care homes.”
Membership of the Care Inspectorate Board
Would you like to make a difference and contribute to the work of the Care Inspectorate? If so, there are roles which have just been advertised and which may interest you.
Scottish Minsters are looking to make-up to three appointments to the Board of the Care Inspectorate from 1 March 2018.
The Care Inspectorate regulates and inspects care services in Scotland to make sure that they meet the right standards. They also jointly inspect with other regulators to check how well different organisations in local areas work to support adults and children. Set up by Scottish Government, and accountable to ministers, it is their job to assure and protect everyone that uses these services. They work to make sure that everyone gets safe, high quality care that meets their needs. Their 600 staff work across Scotland, inspecting thousands of services each year.
The Chair and the eleven members of the Board set the strategic direction of the Care Inspectorate, taking into account legislation and policy guidance set by the Scottish Government. Each member of the board brings a wealth of experience and wide-ranging skills, along with a passionate interest in social care.
Ministers are looking for those who have:
- experience of caring for someone who is using, or has used, social care and/or social work services; or
- strategic experience of Local Government or Integration Authorities; or
- strategic experience of social care provision or commissioning gained in the public, independent or voluntary sectors.
Those appointed would also need to demonstrate:
- ability to examine and review complex issues and reach decisions;
- ability to demonstrate you can work effectively in a team or group environment to deliver results;
- ability to challenge constructively and influence decision as part of a group; and
- ability to communicate effectively.
The appointments are for up to four years, with the possibility of reappointment.
Members receive £163.00 per day for a time commitment of up to two days per month.
Travel and subsistence allowances are also payable, however, the appointments are not pensionable.
Full information on the appointments is at www.appointed-for-scotland.org/. The closing date for applications is Friday, 15 December 2017.
Scottish Ministers welcome applications from groups currently under-represented on Scotland’s public bodies, such as women, disabled people and people aged under 50.
Scottish Care National Care Home Awards – Winners Confirmed
Scottish Care submission to Health and Sport Committee on Care Home Sustainability
Scottish Care, along with a number of other organisations, was asked by the Health and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament to supply brief written evidence for their work on the Care Home Sustainability.
The Scottish Care evidence is contained below.
The Committee will be receiving oral evidence on the morning of 12th December 2017.
You might also find it useful to read other evidence which can be accessed at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/106687.aspx
Scottish_Care Evidence
Partnership to promote AHP student placements
Promoting the value and importance of Allied Heath Professionals (AHPs) student practice education within the social care sector.
Scottish Care are delighted to be working in partnership with the Care Inspectorate, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and other organisations to highlight the success of AHP student placements in care homes and care at home organisations throughout Scotland. Throughout November we will be showcasing successful placements as well as engaging with providers and stakeholders to identify how we can promote greater cross-sectoral working. The link below provides more information about this important initiative. You can also find out more on Twitter #AHPCare
For more information please contact Katharine Ross – [email protected]
