Things need to be different in Scotland
Exhausted staff, carers and families
Health and social care should have been overhauled and refinanced
The system has been problematic for a long time, before Covid-19, current money crises, and the ongoing Brexit crisis
Families and carers are already caring for their loved ones, and they are exhausted
Today I was interviewed on Scottish radio talking about the current crisis in the NHS. The staff are exhausted, social care is not financed enough to take older people out of hospital, the ambulances are having to be driven by soldiers….it is a real problem building up in advance of winter pressures.
Problem bigger than Covid, Money or Brexit
The problem is presented as being about COVID19 or money or Brexit. In reality the problem is that for a fourteen years, the government of Scotland has avoided telling us the hard story. The immediate past heath minister admitted mistakes in handling the sudden discharge of older people from hospital to care homes without testing. What she didn’t admit was the persistent failure of government to address the fact that the health and social care system is built on a model that ignores the ageing population and avoids informing people that they are after a certain age “on their own.” As a result, people are not in a position to prepare for this, and those who are already experiencing it are invisible.
People are ALREADY looking after older people
The question was put to me as if it was about whether people “should” care for older people, and I said yes, but I really meant to convey that they already are doing this, and this is a trend that can only increase.
The system is not fit for purpose
Even with that additional support, the whole system needs to be overhauled with new ways of working. That’s not relying on the current health boards to keep a broken wheel turning and throwing health and social care staff under that wheel.
I hold a vain hope that people will not castigate me for throwing more pressure on families. What I am trying to do is speak for those who already know it is there, and those who don’t know it is coming, and those who still believe that the system is fit for purpose and will serve their need from cradle to grave.
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here
