Vacancies in majority of care homes and care at home services

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called on the SNP Government to finally invest in care services and staff after a new report found that there are staff vacancies in almost three quarters of care homes and two thirds of care at homes services across Scotland.

A report by the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Social Services Council found that in 2023:

• 74% of care homes for older people were reporting vacancies.
• 68% of care homes for adults were reporting vacancies.
• 67% of care at home services were reporting vacancies.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Care services are stretched to breaking point. Vacancies are rife, meaning more and more demand will simply not be met.

“The SNP Government wasted four years and £30 million attempting a bureaucratic takeover of social care that was never going to fix core problems. Now they have finally ditched their plans, it’s time to finally invest in the staff and services who need help now.

“Only Scottish Liberal Democrats have a plan to fix the crisis by introducing a new minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher. That’s how we can people care at home or in the community, free up space in hospitals and help everyone get seen faster.”