Latest news with #Anne'sLaw
Glasgow Times
6 hours ago
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Care reform Bill passed unanimously at Holyrood
The Scottish Government proposed to shift accountability for providing social care to ministers and create local bodies that would be responsible for administering care. But serious opposition from political parties, local authorities and trade unions resulted in the plans being ripped out of the Bill despite around £30 million being spent on its development. The name of the Bill was eventually changed to the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill and it was passed with the support of 116 MSPs on Tuesday. Speaking about the failed proposals for the creation of a National Care Service, Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: 'Let's not pretend we've arrived at this moment by design. 'We're here because of yet another SNP policy that promised the world and delivered a fiasco. 'The now defunct National Care Service Bill was once hailed as the most significant reform to health and social care since the creation of the NHS. 'But, in reality, it was a half-baked plan dreamt up by ministers, clearly in an ivory tower that was dead in the water before the ink had dried on the first draft.' While Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'The way we care for our most vulnerable is more important than party politics. 'That is why Scottish Labour committed to help the Scottish Government deliver such a service, but as I warned at the time, the devil would be in the detail.' The Scottish Government, Ms Baillie claimed, 'attempted a power grab'. 'Four years later, three first ministers later, three health secretaries later and £31 million later and what we have before us is a drastically reduced Bill with not a National Care Service in sight, and not a single extra penny of that money going directly to social care,' she added. Despite the changes, social care minister Maree Todd said the Government remained committed to the creation of a National Care Service. The remaining provisions will implement changes to the existing care system, the biggest of which has been dubbed 'Anne's Law'. The change will allow family and friends to be named as 'essential care supporters' and require care homes to facilitate visits from them in all but the most extreme circumstances. The proposals grew from a Scottish Parliament petition by Natasha Hamilton, who was unable to visit her mother Anne Duke in her care home during the pandemic, ultimately missing her death. Speaking in Holyrood on Tuesday, Ms Todd praised the work of campaigners for Anne's Law, some of whom were watching proceedings from the public gallery. 'I have been profoundly impacted by the conversations that I have had with them,' she said. 'The emotional harm and trauma that they and their loved ones and many others suffered from being unable to see one another for such long, isolating periods during the pandemic must be acknowledged to make sure that this never happens again.' As well as Anne's Law, the legislation will also give unpaid carers the right to take breaks.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
MSPs vote to introduce scaled-back social care reforms
MSPs have unanimously passed legislation which will allow people in care homes to receive visits from a named loved one even in restricted measures. The Care Reform (Scotland) Bill will also introduce changes to social care procurement and a new right to breaks for unpaid carers. The legislation was backed by 116 votes to none. Plans to introduce a national care service, which were initially part of the bill, were dropped in January after unions withdrew support and a number of health boards and care organisations expressed concerns. One of the big changes planned under the new law is a legal right to breaks for unpaid carers. This mean councils will have a duty to decide whether a carer is able to take sufficient breaks from their caring role. If they are not, then the local authority will provide support to enable this, such as providing funding for short respite breaks. This policy, given Scotland has around 700,000 unpaid carers, will cost between £196m and £315m by 2035/36, according to the Bill's financial memorandum. However, it remains a fraction of the £13.9bn that unpaid care is currently saving Scotland every year. Improvements to the way information is shared in health and social care - to make it less likely that people will have to repeat their information - as well changes to procurement rules in the sector are also planned. Beefing up the powers that watchdogs can take against failing care providers is also part of the bill. The most high-profile part of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill is Anne's Law, which allows people in care homes to receive visits from a named loved one even in restricted measures. It is named after Anne Duke, who died aged 63 in November 2021 after being cut off from her family while battling early-onset dementia during the Covid pandemic. The original proposal for a National Care Service, inspired by the NHS, was to take social care provision and staff away from local authorities into a new national agency. That was then dropped in favour of creating a national care board to supervise service delivery and improve consistency - but this failed to win over a growing number of critics. Council body Cosla and trade unions then withdrew their support for the project, while a number of health boards and care organisations also expressed concerns. The plan, which was also subject to a series of delays, was eventually scrapped in January after £30m was spent on the process. Social Care Minister Maree Todd said at the time she was "still committed to the ambitions of the National Care Service" but added the SNP no longer had the support it needed in parliament to pass its original plans into law. How the SNP's flagship social care reforms were scaled back Why was Scotland's National Care Service scrapped?
The National
9 hours ago
- Health
- The National
Care reform Bill passes unanimously at Holyrood
The Care Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed with the support of 116 MSPs on Tuesday and aims to bring forward a number of enhancements to social care. The Bill originally proposed the creation of a National Care Service but was scrapped after serious opposition from political parties, local authorities, and trade unions, despite around £30 million being spent on its development. However, Social Care Minister Maree Todd said the Government remained committed to the creation of a National Care Service. READ MORE: Controversial Loch Lomond Flamingo Land plans recalled by Scottish ministers The remaining provisions will implement changes to the existing care system, the biggest of which has been dubbed 'Anne's Law'. The change will allow family and friends to be named as 'essential care supporters' and require care homes to facilitate visits from them in all but the most extreme circumstances. The proposals grew from a Scottish Parliament petition by Natasha Hamilton, who was unable to visit her mother Anne Duke in her care home during the pandemic, ultimately missing her death. Speaking in Holyrood on Tuesday, Todd praised the work of campaigners for Anne's Law, some of whom were watching proceedings from the public gallery. (Image: Scottish Parliament) 'I have been profoundly impacted by the conversations that I have had with them,' she said. 'The emotional harm and trauma that they and their loved ones and many others suffered from being unable to see one another for such long, isolating periods during the pandemic must be acknowledged to make sure that this never happens again.' She added: Reform is not easy to deliver and it is being made more challenging by recent UK Government changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions and changes to migration. These will undoubtedly impact on care delivery. 'However, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to deliver the sustainable change to social care that people urgently need. 'This is a significant step that will strengthen the rights of people living in care homes, support unpaid carers and social workers and improve experiences for the many people who access social care across Scotland.' Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'The way we care for our most vulnerable is more important than party politics. 'That is why Scottish Labour committed to help the Scottish Government deliver such a service, but as I warned at the time, the devil would be in the detail.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
MSPs to vote on scaled-back social care reforms
It started life with a promise from Nicola Sturgeon that it would be most ambitious reform of the devolution era. But when MSPs vote on the final stage of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill later, the proposals in front of them will be a shadow of what the former first minister pledged in 2021. At the heart of the revamp of social care services was meant to be a National Care Service - but this was dropped by SNP ministers following widespread opposition to how the shake-up would have worked in practice. However, the planned law to enable this flagship change has lived on and will now deliver changes to social care procurement, family care home visits and a new right to breaks for unpaid carers. When it became clear the National Care Service was not going ahead, the Scottish government was left with a Bill it was trying to get passed that was carrying the same name as its defunct policy. This was solved by renaming it the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill and now the planned law focuses on a series of important, but less high-profile, changes to health and social care across the country. One of the big changes planned under the new law is a legal right to breaks for unpaid carers. This mean councils will have a duty to decide whether a carer is able to take sufficient breaks from their caring role. If they are not, then the local authority will provide support to enable this, such as providing funding for short respite breaks. This policy, given Scotland has around 700,000 unpaid carers, will cost between £196m and £315m by 2035/36, according to the Bill's financial memorandum. However, it remains a fraction of the £13.9bn that unpaid care is currently saving Scotland every year. Improvements to the way information is shared in health and social care - to make it less likely that people will have to repeat their information - as well changes to procurement rules in the sector are also planned. Beefing up the powers that watchdogs can take against failing care providers is also part of the bill. The most high-profile part of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill is Anne's Law, which allows people in care homes to receive visits from a named loved one even in restricted measures. It is named after Anne Duke, who died aged 63 in November 2021 after being cut off from her family while battling early-onset dementia during the Covid pandemic. Her daughter Natasha Hamilton started a petition about the issue at the height of the pandemic, which attracted nearly 100,000 signatures, and this led to a wider campaign about the rights of people in care homes. "I find it sad that it gained that much traction, it showed it was just not me who was affected, but I felt like I had to do something," she explained. "It was the most vulnerable point of my mum's life, she really needed her family and I still can't believe the separation that happened. "But I'm proud that I did this for my mum and for everyone else who had to endure the torture of isolation during Covid." Changes to ensure people living in care homes have the right to visits from a loved one were introduced by the Scottish government in 2022 via national standards for the sector. If the bill is passed by MSPs, the right to have a designated visitor into care homes to support loved ones will become a legal right instead. The original proposal for a National Care Service, inspired by the NHS, was to take social care provision and staff away from local authorities into a new national agency. That was then dropped in favour of creating a national care board to supervise service delivery and improve consistency - but this failed to win over a growing number of critics. Council body Cosla and trade unions then withdrew their support for the project, while a number of health boards and care organisations also expressed concerns. The plan, which was also subject to a series of delays, was eventually scrapped in January after £30m was spent on the process. Social Care Minister Maree Todd said at the time she was "still committed to the ambitions of the National Care Service" but added the SNP no longer had the support it needed in parliament to pass its original plans into law. What is left of the plans today is the creation of a national care service advisory board on a non-statutory basis which will try and improve social care support services. Government scraps plan for National Care Service Why was Scotland's National Care Service scrapped? Almost £30m already spent on National Care Service
