No-one should have to worry about paying for care – Robert Aldridge

The need to integrate health and social care has never been more apparent, and requires a funding solution that goes beyond party politics, writes Robert Aldridge

The work of carers has been brough into stark focus during lockdown (Picture: John Devlin)

It’s a no brainer. Everyone agrees that health and social care should be integrated to provide a seamless service. It has never been as apparent as during the current Covid pandemic.

Although Scotland is slightly ahead of the game in integration, our joint services face the same problems of underfunding as the rest of the UK.

The outstanding work carried out by carers, whether family members or professional staff, has been brought into stark focus during this period, but their contribution remains undervalued. There simply is not a proper reliable long term funding scheme for social care. And with our increasingly ageing population the need to sort it out is increasingly urgent.

Cllr Robert Aldridge is the Lib Dem group leader at Edinburgh City Council

We need a long lasting agreement about how we are going to fund social care for the foreseeable future, as originally proposed by former Lib Dem Care Minister Norman Lamb. It needs to be beyond party politics. It is important that no-one should have to worry about how they will fund their care and that those who do the caring are properly rewarded.

It will not be cheap. But it is essential if we are ever to get away from the never ending rounds of unacceptable savings, as highlighted in the Evening News recently. It also means we need to think about services in a different way. The response to the Covid virus has shown that we can do some things very differently.

Primary care services play a vital role, and there have been heroic efforts by pharmacists, practice nurses, mental health practitioners and a range of other services beyond that of the traditional GP.

In fact the concept of the traditional family GP has long gone for most of us who see a different GP at each appointment. During lockdown there were very few face-to-face consultations between GPs and patients, with most taking place on the phone or online. It seems that this trend is likely to continue.

So at a time of increasing contributions from other health professionals, a greater emphasis on preventative social care and more online consultations, do we need to reassess how to make the best use of the expertise of our GPs to make the primary care system as efficient (and cost effective) as possible? But of course at its heart must be the best interests of those who need the services.

There is a principle in politics that advisers advise and politicians decide. The increasingly contentious Spaces for People traffic proposals highlighted in the News have a different and (in my opinion) wrong approach. With Spaces for People, advisers propose the changes, politicians are invited to comment (i.e. advise) and a team of officials (advisers) make the decisions. It really has to change!

Politicians are elected to make decisions and take the flak when they are wrong, including the option of being booted out at an election. Let’s not turn that principle of democracy on its head.

The world has definitely changed. At this time Edinburgh should be full of colour, energy, street theatre, world class artists and visitors from all over the world. I miss the buzz of the city in full party mode (as well as those fantastic Festival performances).

I think we all felt that tourism in Edinburgh needed to be better managed, with a better balance between the interests of residents and the needs of tourists. However, the past few weeks have shown how much we miss our visitors when they are not here. Edinburgh is an outward looking international city. Let’s hope that 2021 will provide a great opportunity to welcome them back.

Robert Aldridge is the Lib Dem group leader at Edinburgh City Council