THE needs of Scotland's growing elderly population are "greater than anticipated," a leading figure in health and care services has warned.

Andrew Robertson, the former chairman of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board and Carers' Champion for Glasgow City Council, said there is a "growing crisis" because of the number of people living with multiple health problems.

In an interview to mark the launch of a campaign to drawn attention to the difficulties carers face and raise money to support them, Mr Robertson raised concern that many carers themselves are coping with growing frailty.

He called for better access to health and care support in the community as well as more anticipatory care plans for carers and their dependent relatives to help them avoid emergency hospital admissions.

Mr Robertson, who stepped down as chairman of NHS GGC last year, praised staff working in health and social services for their dedication and said they are now "much better at recognising a carer as a partner in the delivery or care - not just someone sitting in a chair over there."

However, he added: "There is a growing crisis with the demographics, with the growth in the multiple conditions which people have.

"Many carers themselves are getting older, some with long term conditions and there is an almost open ended sense of obligation which will become unsustainable for many."

Mr Roberston reflected on planning for the growing elderly population over the last 25 years and said it forecasted a higher proportion of older people.

But, he continued: "What I am not sure whether we have been factoring in is they will not just be older, they will have collected a number of long term conditions on the way along.

"They will have taken a beating with cancer. We may have got them through a crisis with their heart. There maybe a rise in diabetes and all the issues that go with that.

"So you have increasingly complex conditions with both the people being cared for and the carers.

"There is fragility. Their needs are greater than anticipated."

It is estimated that around 788,000 people are caring for a relative, friend or neighbour in Scotland. This includes around 44,000 people under the age of 18. Their needs have had a growing profile and between 2007 and 2016 the Scottish Government invested more than £122m in a range of initiatives to support them.

However, information Scotland's new care boards - known as health and social care partnerships - provided to the Scottish Parliament suggests a number are struggling to balance the resources they have with demand.

Mr Robertson said that "one of the dilemmas" faced by these boards, which involve both NHS and council staff, is that they bring together health services which are free at the point of delivery with social services which can be based on "needs and means" assessments.

"We have a real problem as we bring these closer together," he said. "We are going to show more starkly the arbitrary nature with the cut off point with health and social care services and how users of the services are treated in a different financial way."

He questioned whether social workers who judge the needs of vulnerable people should also be "compromised" by having to make financial decisions about care packages.

Asked what needed to be done to support carers better, he said: "There should be a growing emphasis on anticipatory care plans which should involve health and social work staff."

The Carers Trust, of which Mr Robertson is vice president, is running an initiative this week called Britain’s Best Breakfast - based on evidence that many carers often skip breakfast because they are meeting the needs of the person they look after.

They are highlighting research which shows that three in five people will become carers in their lifetime and asking people to host fundraising breakfasts to support the trust.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The package of provisions in the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 is designed to support carers’ health and wellbeing and to support them to continue to care, if they so wish, and have a life alongside caring. 

 “This year we have allocated a further £250 million from the NHS to integration authorities to protect and grow our social care services and deliver our shared priorities, including paying adult social care workers the Living Wage, all of which will help to allow unpaid carers to look after their own health and wellbeing. This is on top of the £500 million we’re already investing over three years to support the integration of health and social care.

 “We are working with COSLA and care providers to deliver a major programme of reform to adult social care, which will consider workforce issues and new models of care and support.”