| UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch |
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Date: 21 January 2005 Edinburgh Social Work cash crisis again: Care packages stopped and £100,000 child protection pleges vanishesUNISON has learned that £100,000 voted by the City of Edinburgh Council in response to the external audit of child protection last August will not now be spent. In addition, jobs in community care are being frozen as is funding for essential equipment and care packages for elderly and disabled people. "The money for improvements to information technology and to the fabric of buildings was voted through in August 2004 in a direct response to criticisms raised in the external audit of child protection commissioned by the Council after the Caleb Ness inquiry", said John Stevenson, UNISON Edinburgh branch secretary. "In January 2005, that money has still not been seen and a leaked memo says it has been withdrawn due to the pressure on resources. Hard pressed Social Work staff working in poor conditions were lifted by the Council's decision last year. Now they fear that because the glare of publicity is no longer there, this money - so vital to staff morale - will just disappear". "It is sad when we are constructively engaged with the Council in building two new departments - Children & Families and Health & Social Care - that a promise seems to have been broken", said Lyn Williams, UNISON Social Work stewards convenor. "This shows yet again that funding is the key issue which must be addressed no matter how the services are organised". The freeze on Community Care funding means a recruitment freeze and priority being given only to hospital discharges. "Our members report that there is no Occupational Therapy equipment other than for hospital discharges, no adaptations, no care packages other than discharges, so workers are in the position of having to do assessments knowing full well they can't provide what's needed. That is not being fair on the elderly and disabled people we serve and has real ethical implications for staff", added Mr Stevenson. ENDS |
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