Vulnerable elderly left to wait for care in the home

Hundreds of vulnerable pensioners are languishing on waiting lists for basic care in their own homes.

New figures show the depth of the crisis which is piling pressure on the country’s already overstretched hospitals.

Across Scotland more than 1,600 senior citizens were waiting for home care packages in the winter.

These are designed to help people stay in their homes by assisting them with the likes of washing and cooking.

It’s feared the delays are leading to bed blocking, which occurs when hospital beds are occupied by patients ready for discharge but without anywhere to go.

Lib Dem health spokesman Jim Hume MSP said: “Providing decent social care is fundamental to allowing vulnerable people to live their life in comfort and dignity in their own homes.

“People who have paid into the system their whole lives must not be left to fend for themselves when they need our support.

“We have already seen a massive squeeze on hospital beds for older patients and a logjam on care services.”

Using freedom of information laws, the Lib Dems obtained a snapshot of the number of people waiting for a home care package in Scotland in December last year.

A total of 1,854 people were waiting for a care package across 28 local authority areas, including 1,627 pensioners.

A further breakdown of the figures shows this haul includes 863 people over the age of 80.

Edinburgh, at 421, had the highest number of people on the waiting list. The figures for Glasgow were not available so the overall total of Scots waiting for care is likely to be much higher.

A shake-up of the way care is organised in Scotland was introduced last month.

Large parts of health board and council budgets have been merged in a bid to cut bed-blocking and improve home care.

New laws have forced councils and the NHS to work together.

The two organisations have to decide which of them is going to take the lead in decision-making, or delegate those decisions to a separate body.

Last year, just under 150,000 people received some form of social care at home.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish Government is joining up health and social care to ensure our health boards work seamlessly with local authorities to deliver the best possible care.

That is particularly important for our older people.

“We are also taking a range of actions to tackle delayed discharge and make sure the right care packages are in place.

“We are committed to ensuring the system works together so waiting times for home care are as short as possible.”