5 May 2026
‘IT IS HARD TO FIND THE WORDS. IT BREAKS MY HEART’
West Dunbartonshire home carers on devastating rota changes
Home care workers in West Dunbartonshire have revealed the devastating personal, professional and financial impact inflicted by new shifts imposed by management of the Health and Social Care Practice led by Beth Culshaw.
The home care staff, almost all women, many with decades of service, say the new rotas have forced them to accept reduced hours, pay and pension contributions.
Meanwhile, the changes, they say, are damaging their mental and physical health, disrupting their professional and personal lives, and sabotaging standards in home care.
They say Ms Culshaw and other managers, determined to introduce a more limited range of rotas, made no effort to address their concerns and find a compromise before driving through disruptive and damaging changes.
Ms Culshaw, who was forensically questioned by Councillor Jim Bollan, pictured left, who spoke up for the home care workers, was said in a social media post earlier this month to be leaving her £ 100,000-plus post in the next few weeks.
One experienced worker said the changes imposed by West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership are costing her more than £400 a month after being forced to reduce her hours.
She said, “It is hard to express just how badly this has affected me. My stress levels are through the roof all the time. I am thinking about money constantly, how we are going to manage.
“It’s affecting my work and my family life. Some days I just feel so drained by all of it. I don’t know how it can go on, but I don’t know how it can end.
“It is affecting me, but it is also affecting the people I have looked after for years and years. They don’t know who to expect now and are stressed too. It is so sad and needless.”
One of her colleagues explained that the new shift patterns also forced her to reduce her hours because the shift pattern she had worked for years had been axed, and she was unable to work longer hours.
She said: “The new rotas cost me £700 a month. That is horrendous enough, but on top of that, despite working fewer hours, my working day is all over the place. The rotas are unworkable.
“I am doing splits, finishing at half twelve, then starting again at four until nine at night.
“I’m not eating properly, I’m not sleeping properly. My health is suffering, my family is suffering, and the service is suffering.
“All because some manager wants to show how clever they are with a spreadsheet?
“They’re not saving money and spending as much on agency workers and overtime but they are ruining lives and sabotaging what was a great service for no reason at all.
“They treat us like we are exaggerating. They do not care and do not want to listen. They should try walking a mile in our shoes. They wouldn’t last a week.
“All these years doing a job I loved, for it to end like this? It breaks my heart.”
West Dunbartonshire Council have told The Dumbarton Democrat they refuse to comment on this or any other matter.
It would appear that officials have been allowed to take over important decisions which should have been decided by elected representatives, while councillors have fallen out and a minority Labour administration has been left in charge in Church Street.
ENDS