A CARER has tackled First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about council funding shortages - saying the support package her loved one receives is being slashed.
Lorraine Allan, who helps look after a former partner who suffered a serious brain injury, thanked Ms Sturgeon for introducing new legislation intended to help carers.
However, she then revealed as this bill is progressing through Holyrood her council plans to axe the majority of care they provide for her loved-one - a move which would leave him on his own at night for the first time in decades.
At an event in Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms Ms Allan told the First Minister: "I will have more responsibilities if these ridiculous cuts go ahead.
"I am being told by the council it is because they are not getting enough money from the government. I am being told at government level it is up to the councils to do what they want with their money and I am caught in the middle having to keep everyone happy. I am exhausted."
Ms Allan spends more than 50 hours a week unpaid helping look after her former partner, whose life changed dramatically when he was assaulted at the age of 28. He suffered a severe brain injury and was diagnosed with early onset dementia before the age of 30.
While he looks fit and well, Ms Allan described his mental age as that of a 10 or 11-year-old.
"If he went out on his own there is a high risk he would walk in front of a car, damage himself or cause damage to someone else," she said. Coping with noise, following conversations and memory could all be an issue for him, she explained.
Ms Allan, 58, said her former partner's current home care package had been in place for around 13 years and included night time sleepovers and 41 hours of day time care.
However, following an assessment, she said Edinburgh City Council had informed her by phone they were suggesting a revised package of 14 hours' day care with no night cover. "Without the support we are getting it would be just a complete shambles," she said, describing the news as a "thunderbolt".
She is appealing against the plan and says as a member of a carers forum on social media she knows many others are facing similar cutbacks.
Charity Edinburgh Headway Group - which supports families affected by brain injury - confirmed many of their users were also having their care packages assessed.
Edinburgh City Council is struggling to fill a £126 million gap in its finances, has already announced that 2,000 jobs are at risk and warned hundreds more jobs face the axe unless it is allowed to raise council tax.
Ms Allan spoke highly of the way the city council has worked with her over the years, but feels the local authority needs to be able to raise funds so it can continue supporting those with needs.
She raised her concerns with Ms Sturgeon after the First Minister gave a public lecture for the Health and Social Care Academy - an organisation supporting changes to Scotland's public services including better community care.
Ms Sturgeon acknowledged there were difficult decisions to be made in local government - saying she was aware herself of situations affecting her constituents in Glasgow.
She continued: "In general terms it is the job of the government to set the framework in which these decisions are taken. It is the statutory responsibility of local government to take these decisions. What the carer's bill is intended to do is close the gap between the framework and the decisions on the ground."
Ms Sturgeon added that the carers bill was still being strengthened.
Councillor Ricky Henderson, health, social care and housing convener for Edinburgh City Council, said: “We do not comment on individual cases, but each person is assessed on their individual needs and care and support planned to meet those needs. If care plans are ever substantially reduced, we will work with service users and their carers to help them to adjust.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said they were concerned to hear about the situation and would be "speaking to Edinburgh City Council to ensure that they are receiving the support to which they are entitled".
He added: “It is the responsibility of local authorities to set budgets and determine how their home care packages are arranged effectively to meet the needs of local people.
“However, we appreciate the challenges of caring for people with complex and round the clock needs. We are determined that people with these kind of conditions get the support they need.
“That is just one of the reasons that, despite cuts of nearly 10 per cent to the Scottish budget from the UK Government, local government has been treated very fairly by the Scottish Government and protected from the worst impact of UK cuts.
“The City of Edinburgh Council receives its fair share of this total sum which amounts to almost £832m this year. Included in this total figure of £832m is an additional £13.7m in 2015-16 through the new funding floor introduced by the Scottish Government.
“In partnership with local government, we are integrating health and social care services to support better provision of care within communities and in people’s homes. The City of Edinburgh has been allocated an additional £8.19m from the Integrated Care Fund for 2015/16 and over £2.4m additional investment to help reduce delayed discharge from hospital this year.”
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