Vulnerable residents are struggling to cope due to care cutbacks while health and social care services sit on £6.3million of reserves, it’s been claimed.
Disabled people have told how they have been “demoralised”, with one woman saying she has barely been able to leave her home, as they wait on help from West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (WDHSCP).
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie says the situation is “outrageous”, claiming it’s having a serious impact on people’s mental health.
It comes as documents released ahead of a WDHSCP meeting held yesterday (Tuesday) revealed there is £6.3m in unearmarked reserves.
Wheelchair-bound Anne Robinson, 66, suffers from crumbling of the spine and says she has been waiting for six months to find out whether a ramp can be fitted at her block of flats which would enable her to visit her mum.
The Dumbarton woman told how she has barely left her home for two years.
She said: “Mum’s got a wheelchair and I have got a really bad back. I can get to my mums if I walk but I have got to have the aid of railings or a walking stick.
“I am at Leven Court where there are eight or nine steps and mum is at Lomond Court which you go straight into.
“Every night ,we wave to each other from the windows. Having a ramp would make a big difference.”
Dr Jim Elder-Woodward, from Alexandria, who was born with cerebral palsy, has also told how he’s been left frustrated at the response from WDHSCP following his plea for a special toilet to be refitted after the previous unit became unusable.
He says he was told that he didn’t need facilities on both levels because he has another toilet upstairs with access through a specialised lift.
He said: “Both toilets gave me the independence of not needing help.
“I find this decision really difficult to accept, as in the 1980s it was deemed necessary for me to have two.
“Since then, I have also acquired coeliac disease and really struggle, especially when I have bouts of diarrhoea. So, my ‘need’ has increased.
“It has left me in a very difficult and demoralised position.”
Meanwhile, a woman whose husband requires 24/7 care says she is struggling to cope after his day care was cut from four days to one.
The unpaid carer, who did not want to be named, said: “It does affect you mentally.
“I don’t know when that’s going to happen. I know there are problems getting staff.
“I am down and I am needing the support. We are the forgotten carers. We are looking after a relative. I am looking after my husband 24/7.”
Last year, we reported how health and social care services in West Dunbartonshire were given £3.5m more cash from the Scottish Government than they needed for Covid-related costs.
Jackie Baillie blasted: “It is quite simply outrageous that WDHSCP is sitting on all this money whilst people are struggling to cope.”
A spokeswoman for WDHSCP said: “As the end of the financial year approaches and the process of budget setting with both NHS and local authority partners is underway, the HSCP board is actively considering how best to utilise reserves for the long term benefit of communities in West Dunbartonshire.”
