Seòmar agus comataidhean

Most of what I was gonnae ask about has already been covered. We have kind of covered this, too, but I want to ask about the current status of social care as far as esteem and career pathways go, and in relation to making sure that the public knows the contribution that our care workers make across Scotland. Over the summer, I heard from workers in Stewartry Care about the level of skill and experience involved in what they provide to people in their homes and in care homes. I am interested in what your current members think or perceive about their roles in social care. Does more work need to be done to demonstrate to everybody the value of social care?

I see that Cara’s microphone is on—and I see Lilian Macer nodding, too.

I have a quick question about self-directed support. It is 10 years since the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 was passed, and the committee has heard questions about how self-directed support is working or not working. Donald Macaskill has said that 70 per cent of care involves third sector organisations. I am interested in the difference that the bill can make in addressing immediate challenges in social care, such as improving self-directed support, which is all about people taking control and making choices for themselves.

I am not sure who wants to answer that first.

Good morning. My question is kind of on the back of Sandesh Gulhane’s question. Will establishing a national care service increase the visibility of social care and give it equal weighting and equal standing? In previous scrutiny of the bill, I was keen to look at standardised education, career pathways, increasing social care’s visibility and establishing a process for recognising social care as a professional career pathway, because we see the work that social care providers do when they go into people’s homes, for instance.

I declare an interest, as I am still a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. I am interested in whether you agree that, if the national care service is nationally managed, it will improve the visibility of our care workers.

You have given some good examples, such as PEG tube feeding and caring for people who have stomas, and I was also thinking of the support provided to people for, say, reablement and recovery from stroke. That sort of support involves mobility, moving and handling, all of which requires lots of skill.

Are we confident that at the moment we have a multidisciplinary approach to assessing people’s needs so that care can be delivered effectively? Could we reflect in the bill that need for the right assessment to deliver the right care to the right person?

So, is the winter preparedness plan not deliverable?

Evaluation of the plan is essential in order to reflect on what works and what we should take forward in the bill.

Just a final—

Okay. Thanks very much.

I will be quick because a lot of information has been covered already. In our previous evidence session, the witnesses talked a lot about whole-system approaches to the budget. We know that we need to tackle poverty and health inequalities and the impact of housing on those—there are loads of umbrellas that are needed to support the improvement of the health of the people of Scotland. I am interested in public health and preventative approaches. I am interested in the ability to have a good healthy diet, for example. I am interested in the work of Henry Dimbleby and Chris van Tulleken, as well as Professor Pekka Puska’s work to improve diet to reduce cardiovascular disease. What work is being done to learn from other researchers who are not even in Scotland, to see how we can budget better for public health measures?

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published an interesting report on short-term, medium-term and long-term planning. It focuses on the fact that the Scottish Government’s health budget depends on Barnett consequentials, so it is determined by the UK Government. If we do not know what is coming from the UK Government, does that pose challenges in determining what needs to be incorporated into preventative health planning or acute planning?