Controversial cuts to community link workers in Glasgow could be avoided amid suggestions that the Scottish Government is willing to provide £700,000 in extra funding.
The Herald understands that Health Secretary Michael Matheson has told stakeholders he is open to "meeting halfway" with bosses at the city's health and social care partnership (HSCP), who have insisted that a £1.35 million shortfall in the 2024/25 budget will force them to slash the number of full-time posts from 70 to 42 from April.
The move would put pressure on the HSCP to make up the difference until a longer-term solution can be reached.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said ministers are "continuing to work with the HSCP to find a solution".
A spokeswoman for the HSCP said it has "not yet received the funding commitment it needs" but welcomed the "efforts being made" to break the deadlock.
READ MORE: Glasgow community links cuts would be 'catastrophic' for vulnerable patients
The proposals have faced a backlash since they were first confirmed by the HSCP in August, with GPs, trade unions, and charities warning that a reduction in community links practitioners (CLPs) would be "catastrophic" for Glasgow's poorest communities at a time when life expectancy is already on the slide and health inequalities widening.
CLPs are embedded in the city's Deep End GP practices, located in the most deprived areas, to provide one-to-one support for patients struggling with non-medical issues that affect their health.
This includes assisting with access benefits and foodbanks or helping to resolve problems with housing, debt, fuel poverty and loneliness.
Campaigners fear that a cut in numbers will result in fewer CLPs being spread part-time across two or three different surgeries, resulting in unmanageable workloads and long waits for patients.
Rory Steel, policy and external affairs officer from GMB Scotland - which has been campaigning to reverse the cuts - said the trade union would welcome "any resolution to the immediate threat to these roles" but stressed that it requires "far more than a short-term fix".
He added: “We would urge the Scottish Government and the HSCP to find a way out of the current crisis but, more importantly, commit to funding arrangements in the years ahead.
“The First Minister has promised combatting the impact of poverty is a priority at both national and local levels and, given that, the case for securing these frontline workers in the long-term could not be clearer.”
READ MORE: Community links workers, healthcare spending, and the inverse care law
Dr Carey Lunan, of the GPs at the Deep End group, said it would be relieved to see a short-term solution agreed between the HSCP and Government, but added: "What we really need in the longer term is agreed secure and sustainable funding, so that we can avoid this rollercoaster of distress and uncertainty for patients, and the teams caring for them, especially during the midst of a cost of living crisis”.
In September, Glasgow City Council members voted in favour of an amendment calling on the Scottish Government to secure long-term funding for the Community Links programme.
The CLP workforce is currently employed by Glasgow's HSCP via annual rolling contracts.
The HSCP said it had been forced to cut posts in 2024/25 because the Scottish Government was discontinuing a payment of £1.35m currently used to fund extra CLP posts.
However, the Scottish Government insists that this was only ever temporary 'top-up' cash and expects the HSCP to fund CLPs from existing budgets.
The Scottish Parliaments' health and social care committee recommended that Scotland's CLP workforce be expanded to manage surging demand.
Christiana Melam, chief executive of the National Association of Link Workers, said providing CLPs on a less than full-time basis in primary care was a "betrayal to patients in desperate need".
She added: "In the short term, we implore Glasgow HSCP to work relentlessly with the Scottish Government to find an immediate solution to 2024/25. However, the situation demands more than a short-term fix.
"We vehemently demand a comprehensive, long-term funding strategy that unequivocally demonstrates an unwavering commitment to patient care and the indispensable role of Link Workers in our healthcare system. The time for decisive action is now."
READ MORE: Community links workers 'needed more than ever'
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have already made an additional funding guarantee to Glasgow City HSCP of up to £1.35m, to secure vital Community Link Worker posts in 2023-24.
"This was in addition to the 2023-24 Glasgow Primary Care Investment Fund (PCIF) allocation of almost £23m within £190m of nationwide PCIF investment this year.
“For 2024-25, we are continuing to work with the HSCP to identify a solution. We are clear that Community Link Workers must continue to provide a vital service in disadvantaged areas."
A spokeswoman for Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We continue to have discussions with the Scottish Government and appreciate the efforts being made to help this situation be resolved.
"However, we have not yet received the funding commitment that will allow us to maintain the Community Links programme at the same level for 2024/2025 and beyond."
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