A meeting of Argyll and Bute Council this Thursday will consider options to address a projected funding gap for its health and social care services next year and through to 2029 which is being described as "extremely challenging".

Argyll and Bute health and social care partnership (HSCP) is projecting a £6m social work and social care services overspend and a funding gap of £12m for NHS services over the next three years if spending is not reduced.

A paper to be discussed by councillors warns of "significant financial pressures" driven by increased demand for services, workforce shortages and the rising cost of increasingly complex care – combined with inflation and the need to provide safe staffing levels.

In her report, the council’s Chief Financial Officer, Kirsty Flanagan says that, while Argyll & Bute is no different to other health and social care partnerships across Scotland, difficult decisions will need to be made "about service prioritisation, transformation and efficiency savings to ensure long-term sustainability".

Although Argyll and Bute falls within the area covered by NHS Highland, the report also warns that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, whose hospitals provides the vast majority of acute and specialist care for local people, rather than patients travelling to Inverness, is "seeking a substantial step increase" in the charges it makes for services.

The HSCP has already taken the controversial decision to place a 28 hours a week limit on care at home services and reduce council social care teams despite worse the Scottish average delayed discharge times from hospital.

It says one of the next steps will be to consider increasing charges for care services and reviewing its care homes.

In a statement ahead of the meeting, the Chief Officer of Argyll & Bute HSCP, Evan Beswick said:

“We are legally required to provide a balanced budget to our Integration Joint Board at its meeting in March 2026. We must deliver this while trying to minimise the potential negative impact that this could have on our core services, while also maximising the positive impact of the services we provide.

“Our budget is also dependent on the funds provided to us by our employing partners, Argyll and Bute Council and NHS Highland. We are working closely with them to reach a joint understanding of the pressures we are facing as an HSCP, the actions we can take to address those pressures and the impacts those actions will have on the people we serve and our financial position.”

Mr Beswick added:

“It is also important to highlight that no decisions have yet been made on these potential savings options and if the paper is approved by Argyll and Bute Council on 26 November then it will go forward to the next meeting of the Integration Joint Board on 28 January. Members of the Board will then make a decision as to whether to take any or all of these proposals forward to the next stage which will be engagement with our communities.

“We understand that any proposals to change how HSCP services are delivered can be unsettling for the people who use our services, our staff and the wider community. We want to reassure our local communities that we will continue to work and engage with them over the coming months to look at longer term service sustainability.”

 

Read more: The case for a Highland weighting; Government to establish West Highlands care review; Care home staff numbers increase after record low

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