UNISON welcomes National Care Service recommendations in Feeley report
UNISON Scotland welcomes the recommendations from the Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland (chaired by Derek Feeley) that was published today.
The review calls for the creation of a National Care Service which UNISON has been championing for many years. A National Care Service will build a resilient care system similar to the NHS, will improve the quality of care and prevent deaths.
UNISON welcomes the report’s recognition of the importance of collective bargaining and that it should be integral to improving the care system.
The review highlights the structural challenges in the social care sector that inhibit workers ability to collectively bargain for improved pay and conditions. Improved training, standards, pay and fair working conditions not only improves the quality of care but also supports investment in the economy.
The report is critical of the market-based approach to commissioning and cites UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter as a route to driving out profit motive and delivering Fair Work standards across the various types of care.
UNISON Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby said: “We welcome the support for a National Care Service, however, the challenge now moves to the Scottish Government to deliver.
“The report carefully reflects the workforce issues to be addressed if we are to have a quality, rights-based service, with universally-applied standards of Fair Work.
“For too long the care system has been weighted towards price and profit. A National Care Service, with the NHS as its inspiration, would make quality of care and Fair Work its focus.
“The report is rightly critical of the function of Integrated Joint Boards and we welcome recommendations for reform, with the Social Services Council, under the direction of a National Care Service Board, incorporating all parties, together with the proposed sector wide body addressing specific workforce issues.”
Full details are available on the UNISON Scotland website