Tag: health and social care

Demo at City Chambers —#SaveOurCareHomes

A flyer reading Edinburgh Council-run care homes for elderly people face closure

Yesterday, activists from Unite, Unison and Another Edinburgh is Possible demonstrated outside the City Chambers to protest the proposals to close Council care homes.

Read about the campaign to Save Our Care Homes.

The Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board were noting the progress of the Bed Based Care Strategy that was proposed at the previous June meeting. The proposals look to close 4 Council-run care homes, convert one into a hospital care setting and convert the remaining Council-run homes to nursing homes. This would see the removal of Council-run residential care homes in the city. The plans would cut over 200 beds in Council care homes.

Continue reading “Demo at City Chambers —#SaveOurCareHomes”

Care home closures

Unite is asking the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) why it produced a report proposing closure of several Local Authority Care Homes and was ready to vote it through (therefore authorise these closures) despite having no consultation with residents, employees or unions until our deputation and subsequent media interest encouraged them to think again.

Many of our members in the care homes under threat (Ferrylea, Ford’s Road, Clovenstone and The Jewel) had been informed, some by email, only a few days earlier. Some of our members had just been moved from the now closed Cherry Oak to homes earmarked for closure.

This is no way to treat our elderly residents and the workers who care for them and it provides us with a stark warning about the behaviour of those with decision-making power over others and how the enormous efforts and challenges of the pandemic can be so easily forgotten, lest we continually remind.

Five-hundred pound bonus for health and social care workers—local authority newsletter

Unite has welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Government that health and social care workers will receive £500 one-off payment. This will be well received by those care workers who are in some of the lowest paid jobs in Scotland.

However Unite members are extremely disappointed that the Scottish Government has decided to ignore all other local government frontline workers who have worked through the pandemic. Although the below list is nowhere near exhaustive, imagine life without these workers!

Read mor

Sign our petition: 5 steps to care to protect the care sector

5 Steps to Care to protect care workers and service users

We are aware of concerns from care workers about the control of infection of COVID-19. A major concern is that agency workers are often working different shifts in different care settings.

We support agency workers making a living, but we feel that the City of Edinburgh Council is responsible for reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection and keeping everyone safe.

Sign our 5 steps to care petition calling for the Council and employment agencies to adopt our 5 steps to care to keep staff and service users safe.

5 steps to care

City of Edinburgh Council and employment agencies must:

  1. allocate agency workers shifts in the same care setting during COVID-19
  2. strictly monitor where agency staff are working
  3. implement effective workforce planning, including increased staffing to cover absence
  4. provide all staff with appropriate PPE, that is fitted for the individual

And

  1. City of Edinburgh Council must commit to a post-COVID-19 review of the use of agency staff with a view to creating permanent roles.

Mary Alexander, Deputy Regional Secretary of Unite, commented

I have written to the Council about asking for a review of procedures and a plan of action to keep all workers (including agency workers) and residents in care homes safe.  This is particularly important given the increasing numbers of care home residents dying with Covid related illness and the fatalities among care workers.

Care for our carers: Unite calls on Scottish Government and employers to meet costs of frontline carers’ fees

Wendy Dunsmore, Unite Scotland’s local authority RISC officer, brings you this update.

As care workers are putting themselves at risk every day carrying out a job that cares forthose msot vulnerable in our society, Unite is calling on local authorities and the Scottish Government to recognise these essential workers by fully funding the costs of the SSSC registration fee for these low-paid heroes.

Care workers must be registered with the SSSC to carry out their job. In recent years, councils have passed the cost of the registration on to low-paid carers, who are predominantly female. Registration can cost between £25 and £80 dependent on the role.

Unite believes there are no other workers who have to meet costs for their own employment. It is unfair and unacceptable to expect carers to do so.

Carers provide selfless and courageous work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forcing them to meet these costs leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of carers.

Next steps

Unite is meeting with Scottish Government officials this week to press for this payment to be met by the employer. It is unacceptable to impose this cost on to carers.

We will keep you informed of our progress.