The organisation representing Scotland’s independent care home operators says the Scottish government does not value social care staff, after Ministers fail to provide additional funding to uplift the National Care Home Contract.

Scottish Care members have now voted to accept a 6% uplift to their national contract.

It comes two months after care home providers rejected the same offer, saying it is not enough to pay care workers’ a promised £12 an hour minimum nor meet increased costs of energy and food.

Scottish Care says the result of this week’s vote was an ‘extremely reluctant decision’ in recognition that it is the best offer COSLA – the local authority organisation responsible for the contract – can make without additional funds from the Scottish government.

Scottish Care says its efforts to engage with the Scottish government over the last three months have been ‘fruitless’.

The organisation says Scotland has witnessed the largest number of care home closures ever experienced over the last few months, with at least one closing its doors each week.

A lack of extra national funding will, says Scottish Care, place more care homes at risk of closure.

In a statement released today, Scottish care home providers call for the government to release funds to support sustainability payments to meet sharp cost increases faced by care homes.

They are also calling for the government to meet the costs of a £12 an hour minimum wage for all social care workers as a ‘stepping stone’ before an increase to the £15 an hour Scottish Care says they deserve.

In April, First Minister Humza Yousaf committed to increase the minimum wage for social care workers to £12 an hour, but “not immediately”.

A timeline for the wage uplift is yet to be published.

Scottish Care says a failure to set a date is indicative of a ‘demeaning and dismissive manner’ toward frontline staff, who need a real wage rather than ‘empty promises’.

In today’s statement, the organisation says:

‘The current year increase to homecare staff and to care home staff is effectively 3.8% at a time when Scottish government has already settled and is negotiating with other health staff at significantly increased rates.

‘We can only conclude that the current administration does not value social care staff in the same way that it values others.

‘We can only surmise that the inability of social care staff to take direct action, and our members’ inability to influence the government has led them to believe they can ignore the sector.’

The Scottish government says it is please Scottish Care members have voted to accept the offer from COSLA to agree the National Care Home Contract.

A spokesperson says: "We know the sector faces challenges and are committed to working with all partners to improve social care services.

“Over the last couple of years we have increased the pay for social care workers by more than 14%. We are looking at how we can plan for, attract, train, employ and nurture the workforce, working with COSLA on consistency of improved pay and conditions, improving access to training and development and ensuring a career in social care is attractive and rewarding.

“We are also continuing to work towards our commitment to increase spend in social care by 25% by the end of this Parliament, an increase of over £840m."

 

Read more: Care homes “at critical juncture”; Social care: The cost of doing nothing; Social care: Parity not pound signs

 

Sign up to our bulletin for key health & social care updates straight to your inbox and you can follow healthandcare.scot on Google News