Report Heralds Free Personal Care A Success

The Care Inquiry Report has now been published, heralding the free personal and nursing care policy a success.

The Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee report examines the implementation of the policy and how it is operating across Scotland.

Deputy Health Minister Lewis Macdonald said:
“I welcome this report, it recognises that our free personal and nursing care policy is a success which has benefited nearly 50,000 older people in Scotland, allowing many more older people to be cared for at home. We remain fully committed to the policy and will continue to work with councils to ensure older people receive services in line with their needs.

“Councils are given substantial funding to provide community care services and we expect them to use this to deliver high quality care for older people.  Local authorities have always been provided with funds to provide personal care at home to people who could not afford to pay for it. Since the extension of free personal care under the Community Care and Health Act in 2002, additional money has been provided for councils to provide personal care to people who would previously have paid for it.

“It is up to individual councils to decide how money allocated to older people’s services and community care is spent to meet their priorities and local needs. We have met all of COSLA’s funding bids for top-up funding for free personal care in full and have received no further bids from them since 2002.

 “We have been discussing the issue of food preparation with COSLA for several months, and have recently issued guiding principles on this. We believe that simple tasks such as heating up meals should be provided for free for people assessed as needing that assistance as part of free personal care. If someone requires a prepared meal service the meal itself may be charged for as free food does not count as part of the policy.

“We know the majority of councils are happy to provide assistance with the preparation of food free of charge. We are currently reviewing the implementation and operation of free personal and nursing care. This review will be conducted over the next six months and will address issues of both implementation and funding.”

On direct payments, Mr Macdonald said:
“I welcome the Committee’s recognition that direct payments increase the independence of those who receive them and enable care packages to be tailored more closely to their needs. We are actively trying to increase take-up of direct payments by encouraging councils to appoint direct payment officers this year to promote this option of care funding to all eligible groups locally. We will issue guidance shortly which will take account of the Health Committee’s report. Our Direct Payment Working Group will also continue to work to remove barriers to the uptake of direct payments.

On the Care Commission, Mr Macdonald said:
“The Committee’s view that, through the Care Commission, the Regulation of Care Act has delivered a regulatory system that provides further protection for some of our most vulnerable people is also good news. The Care Commission has developed a growing reputation as a rigorous, professional regulator of care services over its short life. The report raises some important areas for further development. We will want to discuss the detail of the Committee’s recommendations with the Care Commission and others before responding. We will study the Health Committee’s report carefully and will give a full response in due course.”

Speaking on the issue of the number of people waiting for personal care as a parliamentary question was answered today, Mr Macdonald said:
“We recognise that councils may sometimes take time to put a care package in place for an individual. However, we have always made it clear that older people who require care should not wait unnecessarily for this to be arranged. If there is a delay, local authorities have a legal duty to ensure people’s care needs are being met in some way until a longer-term care package can be put in place.

“It is important to note that the figures released today give a snapshot of the number of people awaiting services or payments in February this year and do not reveal the length of wait or the alternative care that is provided in the meantime. Our review of free personal care which is ongoing will reveal much more detailed analysis of how often and how long people are waiting for care. Local authorities and the NHS are also developing their own Local Improvement Targets for 2006/07 to create faster access to care services.”