A living wage for care workers

Labour is making the case for social care investment in Holyrood this afternoon (Wednesday).

As a result of the comprehensive spending review last month there are Barnett health consequentials of around £400 million.

Scottish Labour believes the majority of this should be invested in social care to relieve the long term pressures on our NHS, to start building a health and social care service fit for the 2040s not the 1940s.

Scottish Labour would also introduce a living wage for care workers. This would not only boost the pay of care workers but improve the standard of care people receive through increased productivity and better staff retention rates.

Here’s motor neurone disease campaigner Gordon Aikman talking about the importance of a living wage for care workers across Scotland:

 

Scottish Labour Equalities spokesperson Jenny Marra said:

“We need to invest in social care to keep people out of hospital for longer, so they can have both the support and independence to remain in the community for as long as possible.

What used to be a winter crisis in our hospitals has been extending all year round with A&E waiting times consistently missed and patients clinically fit to leave hospital stuck in beds when they don’t need to be. That’s because the community care plans aren’t in place for older patients to be kept out of hospital in the first place and get care in their own homes.

Investing in social care means investing in our NHS for the long term rather than the day to day crisis management we are seeing from the SNP government today. It’s time to get rid of the sticking plaster approach to health and social care and build a system fit for the future. That starts with the SNP backing our plans.”

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