With just a few days before the Scottish Local Government Elections, voters are being urged to consider social care when casting their vote.

Scottish Care’s recently published Agenda for Care sets out the priority areas for care in Scotland, at a hugely important time for the sector. The manifesto document calls for the following to be placed at the heart of the care system:

• fairer allocation of resources for the care of older people
• protection of the social care budget from austerity cuts
• a valuing of the social care sector and its importance in the same way that the NHS is valued
• a concerted effort to encourage people to work in the care sector
• meaningful involvement of services, individuals, families and communities in the planning of local care provision
• removing the inequality between what Local Authorities pay for the services they deliver directly and those they outsource
• more balanced media coverage of the care sector
• support for innovation and the development of new models of care
• better informed political comment and debate

Scottish Care Chief Executive Dr Donald Macaskill said:

“In Scotland we are faced with a 28% vacancy level in nursing in our care homes. There is a real crisis in the number of staff available and willing to work in the care sector and this is in part because local authorities do not provide sufficient funding.

“I’m calling for everyone to consider care before casting their vote on Thursday and to take five minutes to reflect on what the various candidates stand for when it comes to care.

“We want a dignified and respectful system for both care recipients and care providers and sadly, it is currently falling short of the mark. But by electing candidates who prioritise social care on May 4, this can change.”