Almost four in five adult day services have fully reopened, though staffing challenges continues to delay a return to pre-pandemic levels of support.

Survey returns from 30 of Scotland’s Health and Social Care Partnerships show 79% of adult day services and 88% of respite services report were fully open by November last year.

This second audit of Scotland’s building-based adult day and respite services – which the government now intends to carry out annually – shows day service capacity has increased from 61.8% to 75%.

The first audit of day and respite services was announced last year in response to concerns that locally-authority run day centres had not reopened after lockdown at the same rate as those run by voluntary organisations.

This month, in a letter to council and health and social care partnerships heads, the Minister for Social Care Maree Todd said responses show the removal of physical distancing in May 2022 has allowed more services to open.

However, she highlighted staffing pressures that have delayed services returning to pre-pandemic levels.

She says the government continues to work on ‘a number of projects’ to assist in addressing recruitment and retention challenges in the sector.

Guidance in place since August 2020 says building-based day and respite services should return to pre-pandemic capacity wherever possible.

Compared to May 2022 when 39% of day services were operating at reduced capacity, the most recent audit shows only 13% of services remain partially open.

Ms Todd says a review of COVID-19 guidance for day services will soon begin, with a view to removing guidelines altogether.

Current guidance requires individual services to undertake risk assessments to protect staff and service users.

COVID-19 outbreaks and service redesign, which has seen some services adopting alternative models of care such as drop-in services or digital support, were also raised by HSCPs as barriers to a full reopening.

Another survey of day and respite services will take place in January 2024.

Read more: Social care still in the red; Fewer than 50% of day services fully operational; Funding call as day services remain closed

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