Commenting on the Sue Ryder Rewriting the Future Report published today (14 September), Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill said:
"The importance of place for wellbeing cannot be emphasised enough. We all know the dislocation and dis-ease which we feel when we are ‘out of our comfort zone’ or not ‘in our own place.’ It is therefore self-evidentially important that individuals living with neurological conditions are able to have that critical part of their wellbeing and health attended to. This is clearly not happening in Scotland today for too many citizens.
"The research from Sue Ryder highlights that there are simply too many individuals who are living where they do not want to be and where, frankly, they should not be. Let us be clear this is not the fault of the care home sector which has over the years developed person-centred care and support for thousands of individuals. But the care home sector has become specialist in the rights based care of older individuals many of whom are living with advanced dementia and a majority of whom are being supported by palliative and end of life care. With some notable exceptions there are few care homes which are geared up to the particular, specialist and challenging care and support of many individuals with diverse neurological conditions.
"The continued expectation that the care home sector is currently equipped and resourced for specialist neurological care does a disservice not only to the individuals and families involved but also critically to the staff who work in care homes and other residents who live there.
"At its heart this is an issue of human rights, dignity and autonomy. If individuals are being placed in communities, which despite their best efforts, are not skilled and equipped to meet their individual outcomes then the rights and dignity of those impacted are not being respected, valued or upheld.
"It is time for all stakeholders involved to resource and invest in the dignity of those living with neurological conditions and that means by adequately skilling up, staffing and resourcing specialist residential and nursing care homes and in part by recognising that currently the system is not working for those who need to find a place to be, who need a place for me."
