Disabled people ‘left in bed’ for lockdown

● Survey reveals impact of cuts to social care packages

Disabled people were left “living in their beds” without access to food or medicine during the coronavirus lockdown.

MSPs have been told that some reported feeling suicidal as a result of the “isolation”.

Heather Fisken, head of policy and research team at Inclusion Scotland, laid bare the consequences of social care packages being cut back or removed during the pandemic.

Giving evidence to Holyrood’s equalities committee, she said a survey in April of 800 people found that 45% had their support scaled back by healthcare providers.

“The impact of this, as you can imagine, is absolutely profound on disabled people and their households,” she said.

“Elderly parents are having to start caring, and they themselves have disabilities. People don’t know what to do. They don’t know where to turn to.

“They are still being charged, or being asked to make contributions for social care. They are struggling to access food and medicine.”

She added: “Clearly this survey took place in April and some things have moved on and improved since then.

“But the isolation and the not knowing, and at that time we knew that people were being left, basically living in their beds, without any hope of getting out of bed in the foreseeable future.”

Ms Fisken said the disabled people’s organisation was made aware that some of those filling in the survey were feeling suicidal at the time.

Claire Cairns, network coordinator at the Coalition of Carers in Scotland, told the committee that there was uncertainty about the future of many social care packages.

She said many people were not using services at the moment, partly due to buildings being shut down or for health reasons based on their own circumstances.

She added: “What that has meant is that, in many cases, carers are caring fulltime, 24 hours, for people, with no breaks, in quite intense circumstances.

“And there are many impacts that is having on their health and wellbeing, and they are (experiencing the) feeling of being at breaking point.

“As services potentially start to open up again, people are having to make difficult decisions about whether they will use them or not, so I think providers are looking at risk assessments and that, but it is crucial that carers feel safe in terms of using services again.”