HSCP chief officer should stand down

The Caucus of Community Councils for Cowal unanimously object to and unanimously oppose the draconian cuts to health and social care which Christina West, chief officer of the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, put forward to the Integration Joint Board (IJB) last month.

The closure of dementia day centres, the withdrawal of support for those with learning disabilities, the privatisation of all council care home provision in Argyll and Bute were, we understand, only some of the completely unacceptable proposals made by Ms West and her management team.

However, we are also aware that previous rounds of cuts, proposed and implemented by the same team, have failed to meet their targets.

What was being put forward was, therefore, a failed policy which was simply to be repeated and its effect broadened in a desperate attempt to make up for severe management failings.

This approach is in dereliction of Ms West’s duty to deliver high quality health and social care to the people of Argyll and Bute. In addition, it would have led directly to some 400 hard-working and dedicated staff being made redundant.

The reputation of the management of the IJB is at an all time low, as is the reputation of the board itself.

We have no faith in either management or board members to act in the best interests of the area and ensure that the most vulnerable are looked after.

We also fear for the future of all health and care services in the area, particularly if the IJB remains unchanged. We, therefore, express ourselves as having lost confidence in Ms West’s leadership and urge you to step down from your current position immediately.

Thereafter there should be a structuring of the IJB to make it more responsive to local need and more accountable to local people. Conveners of the following community councils: Dunoon, Sandbank, Strachur, Ardentinny, Kilmun, Colintraive and Glendaruel, Hunters Quay, South Cowal and Lochgoilhead.