Page 39 - Unfair-To-Care-22-23-Flipbook

“SCOTLAND IS FURTHER AHEAD IN A JOURNEY THAT IS BY NO MEANS AT AN END.”
SECTION 5: THE IMPACT
WE NEED TO BE BOLDER
The Richmond Fellowship is the largest provider of social care services in Scotland, delivering community-based services in 26 of the 32 local authorities for people
who require support in their lives. Some may have mental health difficulties, learning disabilities or autism; others may have dementia, alcohol or drug issues.
Chief Executive, Austen Smyth (pictured right), views the ongoing recruitment his charity is engaged in as being
akin to ‘filling a leaking tank’ – securing the right staff in the right places (no mean feat in a country with a tenth of the population of England) – only to see them leave. Some quit the sector altogether, whilst others choose to move to the NHS, local authorities or council day services, where they will be doing exactly the same job for considerably more pay.
In Austen’s opinion, his charity’s ability to recruit
staff, only to then lose them to the same job in other better-paid areas of social care, is symptomatic of a misguided focus on achieving ‘Best Value’. This, he says, has driven down the price of social care provision over the past 20 years, especially in the not-for-profit sector where it is not uncommon to see charities subsidising the running of services which have been knowingly commissioned at a loss-making rate.
Austen says: “Social care has been pushed to the bottom
of the ladder when it comes to respect for what we do as a sector. We need to be bolder in highlighting the value that we add to people’s lives and the benefits we deliver to society.
“Things may be better in many respects than in England, but the truth is that Scotland is simply further ahead in a journey that is by no means at an end. There’s a long way to go to get this sector the pay and respect it deserves.”
“Holyrood has a different perspective than Westminster and I believe that they do see the measure of a civilised society as being the way in which it cares for its most vulnerable members. However, they have the same funding issues to overcome and even if there is a will to effect change, it’s really only the funding that actually makes it possible.”
39