Scots’ out-of-hours services ‘too patchy’

Scots’ out-of-hours services ‘too patchy’ The Consumers Association
in Scotland has called for a review of out-of-hours social services
after its survey of providers found widespread variation in
quality.

In particular, it wants a set of national standards to be
developed for out-of-hours. Although some local standards have been
developed, there is still too much inconsistency over how services
are structured, the survey reveals.

The association said it was time for the Social Work Services
Inspectorate, along with the Scottish Care Commission and Audit
Scotland, to review out-of-hours because local authorities and
regional providers were starting to think about how to respond to
increasing pressures on the system.

The survey finds a lack of co-ordination between social work and
other agencies’ out-of-hours services, including the NHS, police
and housing. Some authorities suggested a need for greater
integration between services. It also reports a failure to engage
service users to drive service development.

• In the Shadows from www.scotconsumer.org.uk