By Lucy Ashton
Jackie Baillie is urging the Scottish Government to step in and demand West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership provides the aids and adaptations local residents need while sitting on over £6 million in reserves.
At a meeting of the WDHSCP board on Monday, the partnership’s Chief Financial Officer Julie Slavin confirmed reserves of more than £6.4 million are currently being held.
This is despite the fact that respite care continues to operate at a fraction of its pre-pandemic level and residents are also being forced to continue to wait for months for aids and adaptations.
One of the residents impacted is Dr Jim Elder-Woodward who last week was left lying on his floor for an hour waiting on assistance.
Jim, who is in a wheelchair, fell whilst trying to access the toilet. He previously had an application rejected to have a specialist toilet repaired in the downstairs of his property and was told that, because he had the same facility upstairs, this was not required.
This was despite the fact that, several decades ago, he was advised that there was a need for the same Closomat equipment on both levels of his home.
Jackie Baillie MSP., RIGHT, is furious that excuses continue to be made while people are genuinely in need as money to help solve their issues sits in reserves.
She said: “I am extremely angry that over £6 million in reserves is briefly referred to during a meeting of the HSCP as if it is more of an inconvenience than a tool to support people in need.
“It is clear that with West Dunbartonshire having racked up substantial reserves that the SNP Government have done nothing up to this point to make sure they are being applied appropriately.
“I would urge them to step in and scrutinise why this is being allowed to happen to the detriment of residents who need support now.”
Dr Elder-Woodward has been in contact with Ms Baillie’s office and spoke of his frustrations that he was told he wouldn’t be able to have a defective Closomat in the downstairs of his property repaired or replaced.
He was born with cerebral palsy and also now has coeliac disease which means, at times, he requires urgent access to toilet facilities.
Jim said: “It is deplorable that the Health and Social Care Partnership is sitting on more than £6 million in reserves while rejecting very reasonable requests from people like myself for aids and adaptations which they desperately need to secure their safety and quality of life.
“I recently had a fall and was left on the floor for nearly an hour waiting on assistance. This happened as a result of not having the proper facility downstairs following an urgent trip to the toilet.
“Thankfully I wasn’t seriously hurt but incredibly frustrated and annoyed by the circumstances which took an hour out of my life.
“I believe my fall could have been avoided if they had replaced the aid they thought I needed nearly 30 years ago – the aid I’d used each day since, without a fall.
“I respectfully ask the HSCP to serve the people they are supposed to serve, properly, and ensure their reserves are being used, diligently. Not sitting back and using Covid as an excuse.”