The SNP Government has ditched plans for a national care service despite spending nearly £30m on the doomed shake-up. Ministers finally admitted defeat after trade unions, councils and rival parties withdrew support for the huge restructuring.
Scottish Labour leader said Health Secretary Neil Gray should be fired: “Our NHS and care system is in permanent crisis and we have a Health Secretary that no-one has confidence in.
“He should be sacked for mismanaging our NHS.”
The Government’s NCS plan involved a massive upheaval of the social care sector in a bid to drive up standards and wages. Covid had exposed a postcode lottery in the quality of service provided and workers were paid different amounts for the same job.
But the Bill, which involved creating a new national care board, has been seen as a power grab from councils and the SNP Government did not have the votes at Holyrood for it to pass.
In a Holyrood statement, Social Care Minister Maree Todd said the Government had axed plans for “structural” reform: “I realise this will be a source of disappointment to many, particularly those with lived experience, who have been clear that greater transparency and scrutiny is necessary to drive the improvement we all agree is needed.
“I want to reassure those people that I remain committed to the ambitions of the National Care Service.”
She added: “I have said my door is always open to discussion. That is still the case today. We are all agreed that social care outcomes must improve, and I urge members across the chamber to engage constructively with us as we move forward.”
Ministers will persevere with a slimmed-down version of the Bill which will include strengthening the rights of people in care homes. They also plan to introduce a national “advisory board” but this will be on a non-statutory basis.
Sarwar’s deputy Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP has spent £2million on private consultants such as KPMG and PWC, but not a single penny of the £30 million wasted in total on this Bill has gone on frontline care services.
“That money could have paid for a million extra hours of social care, stopped care homes closing, or prevented cuts to care packages.
“Scottish Labour welcomes the remaining provisions, but it’s clear that the National Care Service is no more — what a waste of time and money without making a single improvement to social care or difference to Scots’ lives.
Age Scotland’s Chief Executive Katherine Crawford said: “This was the opportunity of a lifetime to really reform how social care is delivered but this substantive element of the plan has been dropped altogether. The key tests of better public accountability, responsibility, how care is invested in and consistent high standards across the country have not been met in what is now being presented.
“With a system crying out for reform, it’s incredibly disappointing that the Scottish Government has decided to water-down its National Care Service plans to this level. The politics behind this has resulted in a collective failure of our older generation of today and tomorrow.
“Saving elements of the Bill such as supporting care home visiting and improving carers’ rights is very important and must be upheld.”
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