Social Care Cuts

Fife Health and Social Care Partnership have proposed cuts to services to manage a £21.6 million gap in its budget. The potential measures include: • A reduction in services, similar to what happened during Covid. • A cut in respite provision from six to three weeks for new cases. • Raising the threshold for access to social work services, including cuts to services for people leaving hospital. • Changes to urgent care including out-of-hours and minor injuries in St Andrews and Cupar. These cuts to essential services are coming at a time when they are already under huge pressure and could cause greater strain. Cutting social care for people leaving hospital could result in more people returning to hospital because they won’t be able to cope. Without enough respite provision family support could collapse forcing more people to be dependent on the state and care homes which are far more expensive. Cuts to urgent care centres may result in more people going to A&E departments which are already stretched. Fife Health and Social Care Partnership need to reconsider these proposed cuts. SNP ministers also need to set out what more they will do to support services in Fife.