Community Column: Health and care funding must meet local needs

Unison, which represents social care staff, had warned about the potential for over 400 job losses and further cuts to services used by the most vulnerable local residents.

The board paper contained proposals which would be so damaging for vulnerable children and older people in Argyll and Bute that the board had initially planned to hold their discussions in private.

In the end, the board listened to the concerns of local people and kicked the final decisions down the line in the hope that a better financial settlement can be agreed.

The fact that the HSCP was even prepared to consider extreme measures like reducing grants for disabled children, cutting child protection officers and introducing a ‘one in, one out’ policy for older people’s care at home shows how difficult it will be to close the budget gap.

The SNP government in Edinburgh is using these boards as cover for their own cuts so I welcome the fact that the HSCP has decided to put local people first. The level of cuts is unsustainable and we simply can’t keep balancing the books on the backs of our most vulnerable local residents.

The SNP government needs to realise that the HSCP covers a large rural area with an ageing population and Argyll and Bute urgently requires a fairer funding settlement which reflects our local needs.

Investing in social care is how we take the pressure off our hospitals to deliver a better NHS for everyone. Further cuts to social care will just make current problems like waiting times and delayed discharge even worse in the coming years.

The ball is now in the Scottish Government’s court and, unless the Health Secretary comes forward soon with a fairer funding deal for Argyll and Bute, many of these devastating cuts will be brought back to the table in May.

It’s time for Shona Robison to act to protect the most vulnerable local residents in our community.