The Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board met to discuss proposals for care home closures today (28th September). Campaigners made online deputations (statements) to the meeting.
There were two statements from the Edinburgh Trade Union Council.
The first from Des Loughney:
My name is Des Loughney, Secretary of Edinburgh Trade Union Council. My colleague is Kathy Jenkins who is a delegate to Edinburgh TUC. We would like to thank the Board for agreeing to hear our deputation and our comments on the paper that is item 4. I will speak for a few minutes and Kathy for the rest.
A some of you will know we had a deputation to the full City Council meeting on Thursday 23/9/21. We listened to the debate on the Council’s amended coalition motion including the comments by EIJB members. We are not sure what were the consequences of the Council adopting the motion. Has the EIJB been sent the motion accompanied by a presume a covering letter? Will the EIJB formally consider the Council resolution?
On the assumption that the EIJB has knowledge of the Council motion we draw your attention to the clause (2) which reads:
2) To request the consultation should be as comprehensive as possible covering all aspects of the bed-based review and include the Trade Unions as well as care home residents, their families and/or their support workers or carers, current care home staff and the wider public.
It seems to us that in the Report that is before you today doubts are expressed about the legal power of the EIJB to carry out the comprehensive consultation that is defined in the Council motion. There must be doubts on the EIJB’s capacity to carry out a comprehensive consultation. In the circumstances we are of the view that the EIJB should ask the City Council to carry out the consultation. An advantage of this route is that the consultation is much more likely to address public and trade union concerns. After what happened earlier this year we do not have any confidence that a consultation run by the EIJB will address trade union and public concerns. The EIJB seems solely concerned to persuade the public to accept its proposed plan. Read the rest here.
The second from Kathleen Jenkins
Thank you for the opportunity to address you at what is clearly a crucial time for social care in Edinburgh. I have spoken to you at your June and August meetings. I would like to reiterate some of what I said then and make some additional points.
Your documents and proposals deal only with NHS and local authority facilities and yet, we know from a recent FOI request that in relation to residential care for those over 60:
203 are cared for in LA homes
241 are cared for in not for profit sector homes
1464 are cared for in private sector homes
And yet there is nothing in your documents and proposals regarding the future of the last two sectors.
In relation to care at home (all ages)
880 people receive LA care at home
1229 people receive not for profit sector care at home
3188 people receive private sector care at home
Read the rest here.
In our next post we’ll look at the outcomes of the EIJB meeting.
Another Edinburgh is Possible 