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Free personal care
18/12/2008
The Scottish Government's commitment to investing an additional £40 million in free personal care has been welcomed by the Scottish Parliament's Public Audit Committee today.
Commenting on the Committee's review report, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
"I welcome the Public Audit Committee's report. The Committee recognises the significant investment this government has committed to put in place in order to secure the policy which will make a real difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people living in Scotland.
"The Committee's recommendations are consistent with the actions that we are taking forward, following Lord Sutherland's report earlier this year, to clarify the Free Personal and Nursing Care policy and deliver improved outcomes for older people.
"As I set out in my statement to the Scottish Parliament on 14 May this year, we are working with COSLA to introduce, by 2009-10, greater consistency in how people access personal and nursing care services, including standard eligibility criteria and waiting times.
"Early in the new year, we will also introduce legislation to end charging for food preparation and we are working with local government to improve financial monitoring and how we measure outcomes for older people.
"We have also asked Age Concern Scotland to lead work to improve public understanding of the policy and the support people can expect.
"I am pleased to note the Committee's agreement that personal and nursing care should be considered as part of the wider health, housing and social care arrangements for our vulnerable older people. In line with Lord Sutherland's recommendations, next year we will launch a wide-ranging review to look at how we can meet the future long-term care needs and expectations of our ageing population."