Plea for patience over Highland home care

Social work chiefs in the Highlands have appealed for home-care customers to be patient during a period of reform.

The plea was prompted by a tide of complaints about the service to local councillors and news organisations in the north in recent months from service users.

In a statement, housing and social work chairwoman Margaret Davidson has acknowledged it will take “a little more time” for the modernisation programme to be rolled out across the region and for the benefits to be fully appreciated.

She insisted the council was “investing heavily” in home-care services.

While continuing to tackle a projected £3.9million overspend in this year’s social work budget, the council has invested an additional £3million in home care and pledged to invest a further £1million next year.

Mrs Davidson said it may take time for the benefits to be experienced due to changes in the way services are provided.

She said: “Big improvements have been made, with 10,000 hours of home care being delivered every week to about 2,300 people,” she said. “That involves an increase of 1,800 hours every week over the past 18 months and increases of up to 15% in evening and weekend provision, which is when people often need it most.”

She said there had also been enhancements in home carers’ rates of pay.

“We appreciate the value of home care to individuals and their families. We know most people want to be supported to live healthily and happily in their own homes, rather than move into residential care,” she said.

“We also know most people want that support to help enable them to do things for themselves, not to have everything done for them.”

Much remains to be done, according to social work chiefs. Part of that will involve greater use of what the council refers to as “the independent sector,” while critics, including the SNP opposition group, classify it as “privatisation.”

Assessment processes will be “streamlined” and speeded up and new staffing and management structures introduced.

Mrs Davidson promised further consultation with staff, trade unions and service users and their representatives on the changes.

“It is likely to take some time before further improvements are seen everywhere,” she said. “There are some considerable challenges that will have to be addressed.”