Care home owners to refuse older people

Scotland’s older people are facing a serious crisis after
private care home owners rejected the latest offer from the
Scottish executive and local authorities and agreed to sever all
contracts with local authorities, unless a revised offer is
forthcoming, writes Nicola Barry.

The move followed yesterday’s emergency meeting in Glasgow
at which the ‘final’ offer from the Convention of Scottish Local
Authorities and the executive was unanimously rejected.

Residential and nursing home owners voted unanimously to reject
the £406 a week for publicly-funded patients, which was worth
£80 million. Care home owners were holding out for £465
per resident per week.

Joe Campbell of Scottish Care, which represents 80 per cent of
the owners, said: “The offer on the table is totally inadequate. In
seven days, as soon as our contracts end, we will terminate them.
We will not accept elderly people in our homes at the current
rate.”

The owners know this will leave older people who are in need of
care home places remaining in hospital, triggering a
new delayed discharge crisis.

In a joint statement, deputy health minister Frank McAveety
and Cosla president Pat Watters said: “We are angry and
disappointed by Scottish Care’s decision. This is a generous
deal offering a record increase for care homes.

“We have no option but to withdraw from Scottish Care our offer
in its entirety. It will now be left for private care home owners
to negotiate directly with individual local authorities.”

This is the first time Scotland will be faced with such
widespread disruption. Two years ago, South Lanarkshire and
Aberdeen cancelled local authority contracts in a similar dispute
over money, but both relented after a national review group was
established by the executive.