A specialist Glasgow service supporting some of the city’s most vulnerable people remains at risk of closure despite health chiefs insisting no final decision has been made.
Staff at Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership’s Complex Needs Service were told in July that the service would cease as part of its major STEP Forward savings programme.
The HSCP has now stated that briefing was inaccurate.
However, it has not ruled out closure and options for the future of the service are expected to be presented to the Glasgow City Integration Joint Board later this month.
The review itself, including engagement with staff, is currently paused while a collective trade-union grievance is resolved.
READ MORE:
- Glasgow addiction services 22 staff short as vacancy gap emerges
- Vulnerable Scots ‘left in limbo’ by alcohol and drug service cuts
- Matheson warns NHS board shake-up alone won’t improve outcomes
The Complex Needs Service supports people experiencing overlapping issues including trauma, addiction, mental ill-health, homelessness and serious physical health problems, many of whom struggle to engage with conventional services.
A source told The Herald that staff were informed in July that the decision was to cease the service.
Josh Cairns, Staff Side Lead for Glasgow City HSCP and a UNISON representative, independently confirmed that staff had been told it was closing.
He said: “The decision was communicated to staff that it was closing.
“It’s not been official because we put a grievance in to stop the process.”
Asked directly whether staff had been told the service would cease, Glasgow City HSCP said it did not dispute that this had happened.
However, it insisted no decision had actually been made.
The HSCP said: “No one has approved that position. No decision [has been] taken yet – options will be presented to the IJB later this month.”
It added: “The HSCP is aware of a briefing given to staff which was not accurate.”
The admission raises questions over how staff came to be told the service would close before the review process had concluded.
The row comes amid a wider dispute over STEP Forward, a three-year programme reviewing HSCP services against a backdrop of significant financial pressure.
The programme is intended to deliver around £20 million of savings during 2026/27, while the partnership says it faces a projected five per cent reduction in its budget over the next three years.
A collective grievance was lodged on July 15 by NHS trade unions and professional organisations over concerns about the governance of STEP Forward and the way staff were being involved.
Documents seen by The Herald show unions raised concerns that appraisal panels were continuing to identify preferred options while fundamental disagreements remained over staff and trade-union involvement.
The grievance specifically refers to activity involving the Complex Needs Service, alongside Learning Disability Day Care and Enhanced Drug Treatment Services.
It argues that unions risked being asked to comment on preferred options only after they had already been developed, rather than being involved in shaping and assessing proposals at an earlier stage.
Mr Cairns said: “The work-up of the STEP Forward programme should have been done in partnership with the trade unions.
“The process itself didn’t come through the established channels and, in essence, was not done correctly, so that prompted the grievance going in.”
He said the grievance has now been heard at Stage One, but unions are still awaiting an outcome.
Mr Cairns also confirmed that he wrote directly to every member of the Glasgow City Integration Joint Board about the dispute.
In that letter, staff-side representatives warned STEP Forward could have “profound consequences” for services, jobs, workloads and the quality of care in Glasgow.
Mr Cairns described the Complex Needs Service as a “very vital service for the city”.
Lorcan Mullen, a regional organiser with UNISON Scotland, warned that reducing specialist provision could simply place greater pressure elsewhere in the health system.
He said: “Pushing people towards acute and emergency services is no benefit to anyone, and will actually lead to additional costs for the health board, the IJB and the taxpayer.
“UNISON will continue to advocate for these much-needed public services, and will fight for the right of staff and citizens to have a real say in how these services are funded and organised.”
The Complex Needs Service was established to work across traditional boundaries between addiction, mental health, social care and other services, providing multidisciplinary support to people whose needs do not fit neatly within a single conventional service.
Asked what would happen to people currently supported by the service if its model changed, the HSCP said: “The small percentage of current service users will be provided with the support they need at the time they need it – that is not in question.”
The HSCP said the Complex Needs review, including engagement with staff, remains paused pending resolution of the NHS staff union grievance.
A Glasgow City HSCP spokesperson said: “The STEP Forward programme is a significant piece of work, designed to ensure that the services we provide are adept to face the future.
“This three-year programme is based around principles of transparency and participation so that staff and other stakeholders understand the challenges facing the HSCP and are engaged in finding solutions.
“We recognise and understand the concerns of staff but at this stage they are being consulted on the future shape of the service. No decisions have yet been made.
“The level of commitment to systematically engage staff across all of the HSCP’s activity is without precedent.
“However, the programme will allow for growth in areas and reductions in others – all within a context of a projected 5% reduction in HSCP budgets over the next three years.”
The spokesperson added: “The STEP Forward programme will not be without challenges – challenges we seek to meet in a positive way.
“Our staff and trade unions have an opportunity to participate in a process that will lead to resource decisions at a level previously unseen. We strongly encourage staff to take part.”
Share