Local authorities are being asked to suspend some services to divert staff for “life and limb” social care as support across Scotland is cut back.

A joint statement released today by the Scottish government and local authority body COSLA said the pressure in many areas is ‘very significant and we need to ensure that our efforts to assist people who need social care support are maximised’.

More than 9% of number of care home staff are off work after the number of covid-related staff absences more than tripled over the Christmas period. One in four staff are unable to work in the hardest-hit areas the chief executive of Scottish Care said over the weekend.

Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) across Scotland, including Glasgow, Lothian and Stirling, have already cut care packages due to staff absences. At the end of last year, one HSCP warned provision had dropped substantially and two care providers were at risk of folding.

The statement added: ‘Scottish ministers and COSLA are asking all public, private and voluntary sector services to make social care support a national priority, to support some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Everyone can contribute - either by releasing staff who can help in this effort or by supporting carers leave for family and friends who might need it.’

Speaking in the Scottish parliament, the First Minister said: “In order to give priority to social care, some local authorities and partners may require to make difficult choices that involve temporarily pausing or reducing other services.

“These decisions – which will be taken by frontline partners – will only be made when absolutely necessary, and the recent changes of course to self-isolation rules will help alleviate some of the pressure.”

Nicola Sturgeon denied reports that the Scottish government was looking at plans to pay family members £15 an hour to care for relatives discharged from hospital. Some areas, including Orkney, have already moved forward with similar plans, the Sunday Mail reported this week. Social care minister Kevin Stewart said the government was “exploring options to provide more support”.

Asking the First Minister about the policy today, Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said this could create a “three-tier system” for unpaid carers.

The Glasgow MSP said: “If this is happening, it appears to be a rushed policy that alone will not resolve the problem and unpaid carers have yet again not been involved. 90% of unpaid carers have stepped up providing 24 hours a day support for nothing. 10% who actually do access Carers’ Allowance have been doing the same for the equivalent of 35 hours at £1.93 an hour.”

Ms Sturgeon said: “Let me be clear again, the government has no plans to introduce a system to start paying family carers £15 an hour or any amount an hour to look after elderly relatives. Individual partnerships may adopt different approaches they see as appropriate in their local circumstances, but it is not a Scottish government policy or position.”

She added: “We are actively considering how we can further support unpaid carers who I do think are shouldering a disproportionate share of the covid burden”.

There are an estimated 800,000 unpaid carers in Scotland but nine in ten are not eligible for the Carer’s Allowance benefit, or linked top-up supplements paid by the Scottish government, due to rules set by the Department of Work & Pensions.

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