Healthcare unions have blasted the proposed National Care Service (NCS), with one stating they “don’t see any future” in the scheme. Unison and GMB Scotland are pressing the Scottish Government to scrap its NCS proposals, citing that they fall short in addressing key issues concerning pay and conditions within the health sector.
Despite the Scottish Parliament giving initial support to the NCS Bill’s underlying principles during a Stage 1 vote back in February, further amendments introduced ahead of the Stage 2 proceedings this summer have sparked dissatisfaction among certain groups in the sector. The road to reform has been rocky, with many changes and hold-ups, and opponents argue that the functions and remit of the prospective national organisation are not yet clear.
Speaking before Holyrood’s Health Committee on Tuesday, Keir Greenaway from GMB Scotland revealed: “Our members in the GMB are unhappy with the Bill as it currently stands, we’ve made that clear. They don’t see any future in it. It doesn’t achieve anything that they are looking for.”
Greenaway criticised the lack of provisions in the NCS to bolster pay and conditions and decried the absence of trade union representation at the board level. Simon Macfarlane, regional manager at Unison, said that the NCS would barely register an effect on the workforce and suggested the Government should rather concentrate on dismantling the “failed market in social care”.
Colin Poolman, of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, voiced “deep concerns” over the Bill but affirmed their commitment to continue discussions with the Government. During a panel inquiry, Scottish Conservative MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane questioned if the Bill is “dead in the water” should Cosla, the local Government umbrella body, resist it.
Cosla has cautioned that recent government amendments could undermine local decision-making. The proposals, according to Mr Macfarlane, have awakened opposition from “a raft of civic Scotland”.
Furthermore, Mr Greenaway indicated that opposition from Cosla may be “another nail in its coffin”. In response to these contentions, the Scottish Government has insisted that a “fundamental transformation” is imperative for social care.
Social Care Minister Maree Todd stood by the plans for the National Care Service (NCS) as “morally and ethically the right thing for us to do”, pledging to progress with the NCS Bill, which she believes could be enacted by year’s end.
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