Adult social care workers in Scotland are to see their hourly wage increase to just over £10 an hour.

A total of £48m will be made available to care employers to uprate pay to the same level as band 2 NHS staff – an hourly rate of at least £10.02.

The pledge by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf came as part of a £300m winter support plan for health and care.

Currently, social care workers receive the Scottish Real Living Wage of £9.50 an hour, after an agreement was struck earlier this year with local councils.

Mr Yousaf restated the NHS will remain on emergency footing until at least the 31^st of March 2022, as the country is set to face a winter that “is likely to be the most challenging we have ever faced.”

The Health Secretary pledged a further £28m for primary care and said he “would expect to see an increase in GP face to face appointments”.

An earlier commitment to “urgently seek to fully restore face to face consultations in GP surgeries” had been met with anger by unions, who questioned the feasibility of the pledge.

On top of care workers’ pay, an additional £62m will be made available this financial year to enhance care at home provision, with a further £40m for short-term care home placements for patients being kept in hospital when they are medically ready to be discharged.

These measures are part of attempts to free up capacity, as figures released today show delayed discharges have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

In response to concerns about health and care staff wellbeing, the Health Secretary pledged £4m to help staff with practical needs, including rest facilitation and pastoral care.

Controversial international recruitment of healthcare staff will be boosted by £4.5m, with health boards tasked to recruit at least 200 registered nurses from overseas by March 2022.  

Other key funding announced today includes £20m for multidisciplinary teams and £5m to recruit 1000 additional health and support staff.

The pledge on care worker pay comes after a report highlighted the economic benefits this would bring.

The charity behind the report, ENABLE Scotland, welcomed the news.  

CEO Theresa Shearer said:

“This immediate short-term intervention will support the recruitment and retention of dedicated social care staff who enable the people we work for to live a good life in the community.

“We thank the Scottish government for their action, which is a great starting point from which to discuss the overall package of terms and conditions for a highly skilled, professional workforce which truly reflects the value of their critical contribution to society.” 

 

Read more: Report: Increase care staff pay to boost economy; Sector reforms "must put social back in social care"

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