NHS and Highland Council bosses this week discussed an urgent response to the ‘turbulence’ within adult social care post-Covid.
One of the big discussion points was how much to do locally, and to what extent the Highlands should wait for more details of the National Care Service.
Campbell Mair, managing director of Highland Home Carers, issued a stark warning. Act now, or the independent adult social care sector will collapse.
Pressured and fragile service
The meeting of the joint monitoring committee of NHS Highland and Highland Council was dominated by talks of a crisis.
NHS community services boss Louise Bussell opened the meeting with an overview of the sector. Ms Bussell referred to it as “pressured and fragile” with some services currently “unsustainable”.
There are fewer beds and fewer community services available to support people, but demand has built up to an all-time high post-Covid.
NHS Highland is finding it increasingly difficult to deliver services in remote and rural areas, and they are seeing more people with advanced care needs.
Recruitment continues to be a huge challenge. NHS Highland is struggling to find the staff to deliver the care, and existing staff face “Covid exhaustion“.
Ms Bussell did highlight some positives – such as the opportunity to work closer with third sector partners and find innovative ways of working. But her overall picture of adult social care services was one of “turbulence”.
‘We have to take responsibility’
NHS chief executive Pamela Dudek said Ms Bussell had provided a snapshot of services as they are now. However, she said it’s really important to understand what the future might look like.
Ms Dudek said health services must extend beyond NHS Highland and Highland Council, asking ‘Who else can get involved?’
Mr Mair had an answer. “We risk not having any adult social care partners left in the future,” he said. “The next 12 to 18 months – particularly the next zero to three months – are absolutely critical to the independent third sector.”
Mr Mair said the public sector needed to make immediate improvements in retention and recruitment by delivering fairer working terms.
“I don’t think we can wait for added certainty of the national picture,” said Mr Mair. “We have to take ownership and responsibility for what is within our gift, immediately. That’s my plea to you all today.”
Ann Clark, chairwoman of Highland health and social care committee, agreed. “I have more faith in us as a partnership to come up with local solutions.”
Is the health minister living in a parallel universe?
However, council chief Donna Manson emphasised that the Scottish Government’s “door is open”.
“Every local authority and health board in the UK has this issue as an urgent corporate risk,” she said. Ms Manson told the committee that she and Ms Dudek are attending a meeting next week to discuss plans with national partners.
Ms Dudek added: “There’s what we need to do locally and how we represent Highland in terms of the wider issues across the country. It’s ‘both and’ for me.”
Council leader Raymond Bremner agreed that national talks needed to continue while local work gets underway. “We need to make representations to ensure that what we’re talking about here today is known at a government level.”
However, the committee scoffed at Humza Yousaf’s plan to recruit 1,000 new staff for the winter. “As if it’s that easy,” said Ian McNamara of Highland Senior Citizens Network. “He must be living in a parallel universe.”
Back on this universe, NHS and council bosses say they will continue to work together on an urgent adult social care strategy.
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