Health and Social Care – Page 12 – The NEN

Mental Health Foundation: Mental health problems cost the Scottish economy at least £ 8.8 BILLION a year

Mental Health Foundation calls for Scottish Government commitment to cost-effective prevention of poor mental health
Cost to UK economy is at least £117.9 billion, around 5 per cent of GDP

Mental health problems cost the Scottish economy at least £8.8 billion annually according to a new report published today by the Mental Health Foundation and London School of Economics and Political Science with support from the University of Strathclyde.

Almost three-quarters of the cost (72%) is due to the lost productivity of people living with mental health conditions and costs incurred by unpaid informal carers who take on a great deal of responsibility in providing mental health support in our communities.

To put the economic cost of mental ill-health in Scotland into context, the NHS Scotland operating budget for 2020/21 was around £15.3 billion.

The UK cost is at least £117.9 billion – equivalent to around 5 per cent of the GDP.   Across the UK there were 10.3 million recorded instances of mental ill-health over a one-year period, and the third most common cause of disability was depression.

The report, ‘The economic case for investing in the prevention of mental health conditions in the UK’, makes the case for a prevention-based approach to mental health which would both improve mental wellbeing while reducing the economic costs of poor mental health.

Lee Knifton, Director of Mental Health Foundation in Scotland, said: “Our report reveals the opportunity we have to revolutionise our approach to mental health in Scotland.

“It’s time to increase investment in population-level prevention of mental health problems. We can’t only treat our way out of the mental health crisis, which is worsening due to the pandemic, and we cannot afford the spiralling costs to both people’s wellbeing and our economy.

“We urge the Scottish Government to pay attention to what the evidence is telling us and commit to prioritising prevention in mental health. A prevention-first approach will not only help break down the barriers to good mental health but empower people to thrive at every stage of their lives and boost our economy in the long run.”

Research gathered from the UK and internationally shows the potential public health and economic benefit of programmes that target and prevent mental health problems and empower more people to live well, for example, by addressing issues such as perinatal depression, bullying, and social isolation in older people.

Other well-evidenced initiatives include promoting positive parenting, rapid access to psychological and psychosocial supports for people with identified needs and building supportive and inclusive workplaces.

A growing number of studies report on the significant return on investment from parenting programmes. Methods and costs vary, but those assessed in this way cover a long-time frame and report positive returns of up to £15.80 in long-term savings for every £1 spent on delivering the programme.

Similarly, a review of workplace interventions found savings of £5 for every £1 invested in supporting mental health.

Lead author of the report, David McDaid, Associate Professional Research Fellow in Health Policy and Health Economics at London School of Economics, said: “Our estimate of the economic impacts of mental health conditions, much of which is felt well beyond the health and social care sector, is a conservative estimate.

“What is clear is that there is a sound economic case for investing in effective preventive measures, particularly at a time when population mental health may be especially vulnerable because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This requires further sustained and coordinated actions not only within the health and social care sector, but across the whole of government.”

The £8.8 billion costs to the Scottish economy is likely to be a significant underestimate of the true costs – based on the lack of data available around some key areas.

For example, health service costs are based on the number of people receiving treatment and do not consider the many people who would benefit from treatment but either does not receive it because of pressure on services or do not seek help.

Additionally, no costs are included for reduced performance at work due to mental health problems, costs to criminal justice and housing systems linked to poor mental health, costs associated with addiction issues, or the costs associated with self-harm and suicide.

To read the full report visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk.

Reform of NHS key to pandemic recovery, says Audit Scotland report

The Scottish Government must focus on transforming health and social care services to address the growing cost of the NHS and its recovery from Covid-19.

Improving the NHS will be very difficult against the competing demands of the pandemic and an increasing number of other policy initiatives, including plans for a National Care Service.

The health service in Scotland is on an emergency footing and remains under severe pressure. There is a growing backlog of patients waiting much longer for treatment because of the response needed to Covid-19. That has made workforce planning and delivering on ambitious recruitment plans all the more important. But the Scottish Government has historically struggled to recruit enough people with the right skills.

The NHS’s ability to plan remains hindered by a lack of robust and reliable data, including workforce, primary care, community, social care, and health inequalities data.

Meanwhile the pandemic has increased the fiscal pressures on the NHS, which remains financially unsustainable. This is despite the Scottish Government allocating £2.9 billion for pandemic-related costs in 2020/21 and committing more funding in 2021/22 and beyond.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Reforming the NHS is key to the Scottish Government’s pandemic recovery plan and needs to remain a priority. Putting Covid costs to one side, health spending is rising every year, meaning less money for other public services.

“There’s now a clear opportunity to do things differently by building on the innovation and collaboration we’ve seen across the NHS in the last few years.

“For that to happen, our leaders must take the public with them and involve them in the shift from care being delivered in hospitals to much closer to people’s homes. But better-informed policy decisions and services won’t be possible without better collection and use of data.”

nr_220224_nhs_overview Download

‘Strong support’ for National Care Service, says Scottish Government

Analysis of consultation responses published

A consultation has revealed strong support for proposals to establish a National Care Service accountable to Scottish ministers.

More than three-quarters (77%) of people who responded to the official consultation thought the main benefit of the proposed change would be more consistent outcomes for people accessing care and support across Scotland.

Meanwhile more than two-thirds (72%) of those responding agreed that the Scottish Government should be accountable for the delivery of social care through a National Care Service.

There were over 1200 responses to the consultation.

An analysis of responses from individuals and organisations on plans was published yesterday, following publication of the individual responses last week. The responses also highlight the risks which could emerge from such significant reform, but the need for change in the immediate and longer term is a key theme.

The consultation process represents the first phase of engagement for the National Care Service programme.

Social Care Minister Kevin Stewart said: “We will consider all views expressed in the consultation very carefully and I would like to thank all those who took part. It is clear that there is a real appetite for change.

“We will continue to engage with people with lived experience of the service whether they are people accessing care and support, their families, care workers or providers.

“The final scope of the National Care Service has not yet been concluded. Over the coming weeks, we will have the opportunity to reflect on these views of the public. We will then be in a position to bring forward the detailed plans for improvement to be undertaken over the course of this Parliament.

“However we are not waiting to act to enhance Scotland’s social care services that’s why we invested £300 million to help deal with winter pressures, and we’re determined to go further.

“We are committed to acting now to improve things for people. I am therefore delighted to announce today that we will develop and publish a standalone Carer’s Strategy with a focus on Covid recovery and improving carer support in a meaningful and sustainable way. We will engage with unpaid carers about its scope and purpose in the coming months to inform its development.

“Our aim will be to draw on the knowledge and lived experience of unpaid carers so that the strategy is shaped by those who best understand the many challenges faced.

“We will seek to publish the strategy by late spring to provide a clear vision for how we will respond to the challenges faced by so many carers.”

National Care Service Consultation: Analysis of responses was published by the Scottish Government on Thursday, following the publication of the responses themselves last week.

Published responses for A National Care Service for Scotland – Scottish Government – Citizen Space (consult.gov.scot)

The public consultation attracted nearly 1,300 responses, from around 703 individuals and just over 575 organisations. A significant proportion of the responses came from individuals with lived experience, or bodies that represent them.

The social care workforce are also well represented in the responses, along with providers

Actions taken to support immediate improvements on social care include:

Investing £300 million of winter pressures funding in October, to maximise the capacity of the NHS and social care system this winter and in particular to bolster the caring workforce by increasing their numbers, providing them with additional support
Making additional funding of up to £48 million available to enable employers to provide an uplift to the hourly rate of pay for staff offering direct care within Adult Social Care to a minimum £10.02 per hour from the 1 December 2021
An additional £4 million to expand support for unpaid carers this winter, including to enable them to take breaks from caring
Developing options to remove non-residential charging as soon as possible

Looking after wellbeing of Scotland’s social work and social care staff

A new £1 million fund has been established to support projects which look after the wellbeing of staff working in social care.

The Workforce Wellbeing Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care will be managed by Inspiring Scotland and provide grants of up to £10,000 until December 2022.

Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care Kevin Stewart said: “Everyone working across social work and social care has shown an invaluable commitment to delivering a first class service and compassionate care through the most difficult of times.

“This fund is about giving staff anything which makes them feel better and supports their resilience. Applications can be as creative as possible, as long as they focus on our most valuable asset, our people.

“Grants could be given for activities or to purchase equipment that will improve the wellbeing of the workforce. Ask your staff what they most want or need, and please take advantage of this fund to help them get it.

“Workforce wellbeing must remain a priority as we continue to move through this pandemic and recovery. We will overcome the challenges ahead if we look after our people.”

Head of Funds at Inspiring Scotland Kaylie Allen said: “We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Government on this programme. The importance of the people providing frontline care and the challenges they have faced delivering the most essential services over the last 18 months cannot be overstated.

“This fund will provide a flexible and easy way for adult social care and social work staff to access support for their own wellbeing.”

The Scottish Government has made £12 million available to support the wellbeing of the health and social care workforce. This new fund, which is open to applications until 29 July 2022, will ensure £1 million of targeted support towards the wellbeing of staff in the social work and social care sector, which faces unique challenges in accessing available funding since it consists of a mix of local authority, private and voluntary sector provision.

See here for further information and details of how to apply to the Workforce Wellbeing Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care.

Urgent action needed to address critical issues in delivery of social care

Action is needed now to change how Scotland’s social care services are delivered so that it meets the needs, and improves the experience of, people relying on care and support, say Scotland’s spending watchdogs.

The joint briefing by the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General for Scotland says fundamental issues and threats to the future sustainability of Scotland’s social care system need to be addressed. The pandemic has exacerbated long-standing challenges, highlighting the precarious situation of many vulnerable people who rely on social care or support.

Over £5 billion a year is spent on delivering social care services, yet some services are at near crisis point. There needs to be a shift in how this money is used, with a far greater emphasis needed on preventative care that meets the needs of individual people. Service users do not always have a choice or say about what support works best for them. Nor are carers getting all the support and advice they need, despite existing legislation.

Now the Scottish Government, together with its partners, must listen and bring together the views and experiences of service users and carers. This will support the delivery of their long-held ambitions for social care.

The 200,000-strong workforce is under immense pressure and feels undervalued. There is a high vacancy rate and a continuing problem of recruiting and retaining this workforce into roles which often have low pay and poor conditions of employment. At the same time demand for social care services continues to increase.

Commissioning social care services tends to focus on cost, rather than quality or outcomes. Worrying limitations in social care data has created major gaps in the information needed to inform improvements.

William Moyes, Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “There are significant problems with the delivery of social care services. These services are vital, yet we have a workforce that’s not adequately valued or regarded.

“Staffing shortages are a major issue across the sector and not all people’s needs are being met. Too often a focus on costs comes at the expense of delivering high quality services that aren’t at the heart of the needs of individuals. The additional funding to achieve this will be significant. Not taking action now presents a serious risk to the delivery of care services for the people who depend on them.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “We cannot wait another five years until the planned National Care Service is in place. Action must happen now, and at speed, by the Scottish Government.

“There must be clear timescales for delivery, demonstrating that lessons have been learnt from previous reforms of health and social care services. This will create a strong foundation for the government’s vision to create a National Care Service.”

briefing_220127_social_care Download

COSLA’s Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Councillor Stuart Currie, responded to the Audit Scotland report on social care: ‘The Audit Scotland report sets out many of the challenges that Local Government has consistently highlighted for many years now.

“There is an urgent need to address these challenges – many of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic – by working with our partners across Scottish Government, in the third and independent sector, and most importantly, people with lived experience.

“We agree with Audit Scotland that Social Care reform cannot wait for a National Care Service to be implemented. Local authorities are central to delivering the right care at the right time in the right place.

“Local Government recognises that we cannot stand still if we want to create meaningful change for our communities. We continue to work with Scottish Government to progress our shared commitments outlined in our Joint Statement of Intent so that we can now begin to implement much of the reform that was called for in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

“Fundamental to these shared commitments is a recognition that through empowering people, valuing our workforce and embedding a human rights-based approach in social care, we can begin to deliver real solutions for our local communities, unpaid carers, and our workforce.”

Staff joining social care to have fees waived

SSSC registration and PVG checks to be funded

New staff joining the social care workforce are to have entry costs paid by the Scottish Government until the end of March.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration will now be funded to help encourage more staff into the profession and address winter staffing pressures.

The scheme starts today and will include staff taking up direct care posts in adult social care, along with comparable roles in children’s social care services and the justice sector.

It has been introduced following discussions with COSLA and will cover local authority, private and third sectors.

Social care minister Kevin Stewart said: “Care workers have been absolutely critical to our pandemic response, giving vulnerable people the care they need and avoiding further pressure falling on the NHS.

“This trial aims to assist easing winter pressures in this sector by removing any financial barriers that may stop people from applying for a rewarding career in care.

“There are significant pressures in social care due to high vacancy levels and increased demand. I hope this support will encourage those considering joining this vital workforce to go ahead and do so.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to identify all possible ways we can assist the social care sector to aid recruitment and retention within the workforce at this critical time.”

Basic PVG checks cost £59. SSSC registration costs between £15 and £80 depending on the role.

Preventing Homelessness: Scottish Government opens consultation

Views sought on proposed legal duties for public bodies

Health and social care services, children’s services, police and other public bodies will have a legal duty to ‘ask and act’ to prevent homelessness under Scottish Government proposals.

The measures would be part of new laws aimed at preventing homelessness, based on recommendations from an expert group convened by the charity Crisis at the request of the Scottish Government. They would represent the biggest change to Scotland’s homelessness legislation in almost a decade.

Public bodies would have a legal duty to identify anyone at risk of homelessness and either take action themselves or refer on to more appropriate help.

A consultation on the plans, run jointly with COSLA, will give people with experience of homelessness, alongside those from the housing sector, public bodies and others, the chance to share their views and help shape Scotland’s approach to preventing homelessness.

Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We know that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. These new proposals build on the strong housing rights that already exist in Scotland for people who become homeless.

“Early action should be a shared public responsibility, giving people facing homelessness more choice and control over where they live.

“Homelessness is often a traumatic and unsettling experience that can have a profound impact on the lives of those involved, including children.

“By intervening at an earlier stage, and encouraging services to work together to respond to people’s needs, we can ensure fewer people and families are faced with having to re-build lives affected by homelessness.

“This will further add to our existing ambitious programme of work and investment to ensure everyone has a safe, warm place to call home.”

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “We strongly support plans for new duties for public bodies to prevent homelessness in Scotland.

“Scotland has made huge progress in its journey towards ending homelessness in recent years, but while the country has powerful protections in place for people experiencing homelessness, far too many people are being forced to reach crisis point before they get the help they need.

“Everyone has a role to play in preventing homelessness, and by introducing new duties requiring public services to ask about someone’s housing situation, and offer them the help they need, we can build a truly world leading system of homelessness prevention.”

Councillor Kelly Parry, COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing said: “People have a right to a place they can call home. Rough sleeping and sofa surfing is something we have always worked to eliminate.

“We welcome the proposal that the duty to end homelessness will be shared with other public bodies and look forward to being closely engaged in the consultation with other partners”.

Prevention of Homelessness Duties consultation – closes 31 March 2022

GMB encourages everyone to get booster – but workers need pay boost too

Governments yet again ask key frontline workers for huge national effort, but they are still not paying them properly, says GMB

GMB Union encourages everyone to get their booster – but says frontline workers need a pay boost too.

Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary, said: “There has been no respite for our frontline workers throughout the covid pandemic.

“They’ve put themselves in harm’s way to serve the public – particularly when governments and employers failed to ensure the provision of proper PPE and testing to keep them safe at work.

“GMB members know the importance of keeping safe and well, that’s why we’re encouraging everyone across the four nations to get their booster.

“But as governments, yet again, ask our NHS, social care and key frontline workers to undertake another huge national effort, they are still not paying these workers properly.

“Against the backdrop of covid, there is a cost-of-living crisis, key services face an understaffing crisis and the people delivering them are enduring a wage crisis.

“That’s not good enough and it’s got to be confronted.

“Our key workers must be paid properly – it’s the least they deserve for everything they are doing for all of us.”

Prime Minister call for volunteers to support National Booster Effort

UK Government and NHS announce ambition to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers to help get jabs into arms
All eligible adults will be offered the chance to get their jab before the New Year
PM: “We need you to come forward again, to work alongside our brilliant GPs, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, to deliver jabs and save lives.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard have joined forces to issue a rallying cry for thousands of volunteers to come forward and support the NHS booster campaign.

The public will be urged to play a crucial role in the UK’s fight against Omicron by helping the NHS to get as many jabs into arms as quickly as possible. No task will be too small to contribute towards this national effort.

Yesterday the Prime Minister announced a new ambition for every eligible adult to have the chance to get their jab by the end of the year.

This follows new evidence that suggest the Omicron variant is extremely transmissible and two jabs are not enough to protect against infection.

The new target means the NHS will be massively ramping up its vaccine operations in the next few days, and it needs as many people as possible to play their part by volunteering their time to help.

Urging volunteers to sign up to the booster drive, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “As part of our Get Boosted Now vaccination drive we need to increase our jabbing capacity to unprecedented levels.

“But to achieve something on this scale, we need your help. So today I’m issuing a call for volunteers to join our national mission to get jabs in arms.

“We need tens of thousands of people to help out – everyone from trained vaccinators to stewards.

“Many thousands have already given their time – but we need you to come forward again, to work alongside our brilliant GPs, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, to deliver jabs and save lives.

“So please come forward if you can.”

There are now almost 3,000 vaccine sites across the country, staffed by over 90,000 volunteers who have given up 1.1 million hours of time so far.

In the next week hundreds more sites, mobile units and pop ups will be springing up across the country. These will be in a range of locations that will make it as easy as possible for people to get boosted – such as at football stadia, shopping centres and racecourses.

This means volunteers are needed to perform tasks such as registering patients, managing queues and giving jabs.

Last week the NHS announced a recruitment drive for 10,000 paid vaccinators and support staff and that it will also work with the Royal Voluntary Service and St. John Ambulance to recruit a further 40,000 volunteers for roles such as admin and stewarding queues.

In the last week, 13,000 people have come forward as steward volunteers, and a further 4,500 people have registered their interest to take up one of the 10,000 paid vaccinator roles. The government and NHS now want to go even further.

NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “In the face of the grave threat posed by the new Omicron strain of Covid, the NHS is seeking to offer vaccine booster protection to all eligible adults by the end of the month, a new national mission in which everyone can play their part.

“There is no doubt that our incredible NHS staff will rise to the challenge but we cannot do this alone – we need the support of the public and volunteers to once again support the Covid vaccination programme.

“Since we first issued a call to arms we have had an outstanding response but Omicron has shifted the goalposts and we are now renewing our plea to the nation – I would urge anyone who has volunteered in the past, or considered it but not taken up the opportunity, to come forward now – search ‘NHS vaccine team’ today and find out more about how you can help us save lives.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “To help us turbocharge our COVID-19 booster programme we need people across the country to join our national mission to get boosted now.

“We are so grateful to the volunteer vaccinators from organisations such as St John Ambulance and Royal Voluntary Service who have made an enormous contribution by administering millions of vaccinations since the start of this year.”

People interested in either a voluntary or paid role are urged to visit the Join Vaccine Team page or search ‘NHS vaccine team’. People who volunteered or were trained for paid roles previously are also being contacted to help out again.

Scotland’s First Minister will make a statement on the situation in Scotland this afternoon. It’s expected that restrictions will be strengthened here as Omicron variant cases continue to rise sharply across the UK.

Armed forces step up to support vaccination drive across UK

750 Armed Forces personnel have been made available to support the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care and Scottish Government to accelerate the vaccine booster programme.

Over 100 personnel are currently supporting the vaccine rollout in Scotland. 600 Armed Forces personnel have been made available to NHS England to administer vaccines, working in small teams across the country.

In addition, around 50 personnel will provide planning support to NHS England. 41 planners will deploy to NHS trusts across England and 10 logistics experts will be based at NHS England’s headquarters in London.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We have rapidly mobilised Service personnel to work alongside our dedicated health services to accelerate the vaccine booster programme.

“Our Armed Forces will help to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible as we continue our efforts to support the UK’s response to the pandemic.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We are turbocharging our COVID-19 booster programme to offer every adult in England a vaccine by the end of the year to protect people from the Omicron variant.

“Building our defences through boosters is a hugely important national mission and it’s brilliant to see the military supporting our NHS staff in our race against the virus.

“Please get boosted now to top-up your immunity and keep yourself and your loved ones safe this winter.”

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said: “I’m proud of our Armed Forces who are once again stepping up to help protect people and communities.

“We have a long history of working hand in hand with the NHS as two organisations with a common goal – to help keep our people safe.”

Planners based at NHS England headquarters will be led by Brigadier Phil Prosser who was previously deployed to support the delivery of the vaccine programme which began in December 2020. They will work alongside NHS England to maximise existing capacity and ensure the vaccine programme can be delivered at pace.

Since March 2020, Defence has supported over 430 tasks as part of Operation Rescript – Defence’s support to the UK’s response to the pandemic.

Defence is currently supporting ambulance services in Wales and Scotland and the vaccine rollout in Scotland among other tasks including testing.

Support is being provided through the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) process.

Personnel supporting on Operation Rescript tasks have deployed from across the three services – Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force – and are a mixture of regulars and reservists.