BED BLOCKING IS A PROBLEM…

One which is not exclusive to Scotland

So called, but in reality absolutely not, SCOTTISH Labour, is today making a big noise about the fact that bed blocking (where patients are no longer in need of hospital treatment but are not well enough to go home alone) is a big problem in Scotland.

And indeed, it is.

But as usual with their sound bite nonsense, what “Scottish” Labour forget to mention is that this problem is repeated over the UK.

Where “Welsh” Labour, another misnomer, is in charge, there is every bit as large a problem.

In the north of Ireland there is a similar, larger, problem, given the small size of the population. I’m not sure who is running the health service in the north at the moment, given that there is no functioning government given that the DUP had a hissy fit because Sinn Fein won the election. So does anyone know who is responsible for health at ministerial level? (I assume that the English government’s Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris [below] is in charge until someone takes action to restore the government.)

And in England, where the English Tories (not a misnomer this time) are responsible, the figure is again, massive. (It’s rumoured that Gove is to be the next health secretary, so wait for the figures to get worse as, based on his record in government, he’s definitely King Midas in Reverse.)

Like every other service that is becoming unglued in the UK, there are a variety of different reasons, including a lack of funding (which comes from the UK/English government). They decide what to spend on a particular service and they allocate a proportion of that to the devolved (lower lesser) governments.

But there is a huge shortage of staff for what is a difficult and very underpaid job of looking after people who are well enough to leave hospital but not well enough to take care of themselves.

Of course, there are people who care for their family without anyone from outside being involved, but as you might expect this is so badly paid that not many people can afford to do it:

How much is Carer’s Allowance worth?

Carer’s Allowance is paid at up to £76.75 a week (2023/24 rate).

In Scotland, you’ll also get a Carer’s Allowance Supplement paid automatically twice a year. Visit mygov.scot/carers-allowance-supplement for more information.

If you’re already getting more than £76.75 a week from certain other benefits, such as your state pension, you won’t actually receive Carer’s Allowance payments. So, you’ll do it for nothing.

£76,75 a week? About what it costs for a decent lunch a one’s club, what what!

The shortage of staff for this difficult work may, at least partly, be laid at the door of Brexit.

When my mother was ill before she died, we did, for a short time, have people coming in at lunch time to make sure she had something to eat and had taken her medications. All but one of them was Eastern European.

But after Brexit these people were treated badly by the Home Office and many decided that being an alien, having lost your rights as a citizen, made the underpaid job not worth the effort… and they went back to Europe.

We need more money spent on the social care system… but, Labour, we need it all over the UK. And it should be noted that, by making this the fault of the SNP, you are also condemning the Labour Party in Wales.

The faults lie largely in Westminster… and don’t think that a change of government there will make any difference.

Plus les choses changent, plus elles restent pareilles.