CARE COMES UNDER HOLYROOD CONTROL
SNP says legislation will end ‘postcode lottery’
THE creation of a National Care Service in Scotland has been hailed as “the most ambitious reform of public services since the creation of the NHS”.
The Scottish Government yesterday published a Bill which will pave the way for a massive shake-up of how social care is provided.
The legislation is not a full nationalisation of the sector but will make care firm bosses directly accountable to SNP ministers.
It is intended to ensure fair employment practices and introduce national pay bargaining for care workers.
Unpaid carers will also be given a right to breaks. The Record has championed the campaign to improve the country’s care system with failings highlighted in the coronavirus pandemic.
While the NHS is publicly owned and free at the point of need, social care is largely provided by private companies who follow local authority guidelines.
This has created a patchwork system across the country with standards varying by region.
Launching the legislation on a visit to Aberdeen, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “This is the most ambitious reform of public services since the creation of the NHS. People have told us they want a National Care Service, which is accountable to Scottish ministers, with services designed and delivered locally. That’s exactly what we are going to deliver.
“The design of the NCS will have human rights embedded throughout, and the actual shape and detail of how the NCS works will be designed with those who have direct experience of accessing and providing social care.
“We are going to end the postcode lottery of care in Scotland. Through the National Care Service we’re going to ensure everyone has access to consistently high-quality care and support so they can live a full life.
“This is our ambitious goal and while it will not be easy to achieve it is vital that we do.”
Social care minister Kevin Stewart said: “One of the key benefits of a National Care Service will be to ensure our social care and social work workforce are valued, and that unpaid carers get the recognition they deserve.”
But the legislation stops short of preventing private health firms from profiting by proving care.
Unison, the country’s largest trade union, has warned the proposals will remove legal responsibility for social care from democratically elected councils in favour of quangos – with no attempt to remove the market or the profit motive from the sector.