Care service reform madness - John McLellan
The SNP’s National Care Service (NCS) plan has already cost £30bn with nothing to show for it, while the EIJB ─ the body which oversees the integration of council and NHS care services ─ has another £50 million to find in the next year, having already saved £50 million over the past two years.
Now some 64 voluntary organisations supplying services to the EIJB are to have their grants withdrawn to save £700,000 over the remainder of this financial year and £4.5 million next year.
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Hide AdMaybe one or two could be more effective, but my experience of organisations like the Ripple Project in Restalrig, which is set to lose £88,000, was that their positive impact was immense, their services delivered efficiently and at significantly lower cost than the public sector.
The Ripple might be able to carry on ─ indeed it must because of the huge contribution it makes to a community which often feels forgotten ─ but many others will be forced to close altogether.
People who benefit from these services can’t wait while £2bn is squandered on bureaucratic centralisation, and now the Greens have withdrawn support for the NCS, it should be dumped forthwith and the resources redirected to where they are needed most.
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