Free Personal Care

Lord Stewart Sutherland chaired the 1999 Royal Commission report on Long Term Care. This was the basis for the Free Personal Care Policy introduced in 2002. In 2007 Lord Sutherland, was again commissioned, to conduct an independent review of Free Personal Care. He recently published his findings. He found  that the Free Personal Care policy was fully funded from it’s introduction through until the end of 2005-6. Significantly though, the Report pointed to a current funding shortfall, mainly due to to a greater-than-expected demand.  The funding gap THIS YEAR is crying out for positive action from the Scottish Government, otherwise it is letting local authorities and pensioners down. Failing to plug any of the gap in Free Personal Care funding which has been highlighted by Lord Sutherland can only lead to loss of vital services.

The SNP predictably attack Westminster but the previous Labour-led administration delivered the policy of free personal care and ensured it was fully funded. The policy has been very successful and popular and, importantly, helped end discrimination against patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

I call on the SNP to fully fund the policy again and ensure Scotland-wide consistency as Sutherland called for. It is wrong to leave it up to each council to determine the care they provide.  How fair and equal will the provision be across Scotland? How fair will this be in Renfrewshire?

Renfrewshire Carers

With care in mind Carers Week 2008 is coming up from the 9th to 15th of June.  I would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the priceless contribution of the carers in our community. Carer’s Week this year’s it also aims to highlight the impact caring can have on carers’ own health and wellbeing. Many carers do not recognise themselves under the term ‘carer’. They are just people trying to cope as best they can while helping to look after loved ones. A carer may even be juggling paid work with their unpaid caring responsibilities at home – and they can’t afford to be ill!
Renfrewshire Carers Centre is in Silk Street, Paisley, led by Diane Goodman and her valuable team. Phone: 0141 887 3643 or vist www.renfrewshirecarers.com for local information, help and advice.
Sport for all?
I have received many complaints about the new charges in Renfrewshire Leisure sports facilties. One parent tells me he now has to pay £9 for a lunchtime midweek game of badminton which cost him £3.30 in March 2007. The cost is now prohibitive for his twice weekly games with his sons. Another parent tells me of a price rise of £1.75 to £2.50 for her 13 year old son each time he wants to run on the outdoor race track. In striving to promote the health benefits of exercise, not to mention the Commonwealth Games, I cannot understand the thinking behind such price hikes. I have also taken this matter up with the Chief Executice of Renfrewshire Leisure.
And there is also confusion about the status of PE in our schools. I have written to the Director of Education in Renfrewshire asking if he can confirm that all school children here in Renfrewshire will be able to benefit from the promised two hours a week of PE for delivered by qualified PE teachers. I’ll let you know.