Residents in East Dunbartonshire are being urged to have their say on the budget principles for East Dunbartonshire Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) to help determine next year’s budget.
As with other public sector organisations, the HSCP is under extreme financial pressures and is expected to make savings of £4.1m to £4.5m each year for the next five years (a cumulative total of £17.2m), although detailed work for 2024/25 indicates the financial challenge will be in the region of £7.4m.
Within East Dunbartonshire, the HSCP delivers the following community-based services:
- Assessment for access to social care
- Care at Home
- Care Homes
- Independent Living and Social Support
- District Nursing
- Rehabilitation
- Child and Adult Protection
- Aids and Adaptations
- Addiction and Mental Health Services.
The HSCP also has responsibility for unplanned hospital care and in reducing the amount of time people spend within a hospital setting when this is not the best place for them.
Caroline Sinclair, Chief Officer, HSCP, said,
These are financially challenging times for the HSCP, with the unit cost of providing and buying services rising significantly while the funding being provided to pay for this is not following suit. There is also increasing demand for services for older people and mental health and addiction services.
“Therefore, we would like to hear the views of people living in East Dunbartonshire on some budget principles for the coming year to enable us to prioritise services to best meet the needs of the people we support.”
Residents can access the HSCP budget consultation on the EDC website where they will be asked to share their views on the following principles:
- Individuals who have the means should pay more for the services they receive directly
- Rigid application of the HSCP Fair Access to Community Care policy which determines that there should be an equity of access to services based on need
- Tighten the eligibility to receive services, and prioritise delivery of services to those with the highest levels of need
- If budget pressures ever exceed available funding, the HSCP will have to implement a recovery plan which may mean delays / reduction / pausing or cancellation of services
- A focus on prevention and ensuring individuals have more control over the care they receive which promotes independence, with the understanding that the benefits to this approach are longer term and difficult to determine impact
- Collaborative commissioning and working in partnership with care providers to ensure services are delivered efficiently and in the best way to effectively support individuals
- Services should be delivered digitally where appropriate
- Transformation and service redesign should deliver better outcomes for patients and service users and require to be delivered in the most efficient manner possible.
Caroline Sinclair, added, “The budget consultation runs from Monday 6 November to Friday 1 December and is an opportunity to make your voice heard on the community-based health care services in East Dunbartonshire. I would urge local residents to complete the survey to help determine the budget for 2024/5.”
