Plans which unions claim could lead to the privatisation of care homes and large scale privatisation of social care for the elderly in West Lothian have been rubber stamped.
The decision, unopposed by the Integrated Joint Board (IJB), came after families joined dozens of care home staff in a protest outside the Council Chambers at Livingston's Civic Centre, demanding that councillors protect jobs from cuts and low wage privatisation.
The Integrated Joint Board (IJB) oversees those care services run between the council and NHS Lothian.
Conservative group leader Damian Doran-Timson told the meeting he and fellow councillors had been handed 'Hobson's Choice' of accepting the budget plans or large scale cuts - with no alternatives offered.
The IJB agreed to start a review process which will look at proposals that includes the closure of care homes and the use of privatise staff to provide care at home.
The homes which could face closure are Limecroft and Craigmair in Livingston, Whitdale in Whitburn and Burngrange in West Calder.
Unions understand the proposal would be to close two sites within two years, with admissions to the council homes winding down and departing staff not being replaced.
Budget cuts will also reduce the care at home service for the elderly and disabled, cut staffing in housing with care, reduce the number of social workers, Occupational Therapists and admin support staff and privatise residential care for adults with a learning disability.
Officers promised that no decision would be taken without direct consultation with service users and their families.
Union representatives highlighted greater complaints from privately run facilities and told councillors that services provided by the public sector were better for service users and better for the staff conditions.
Having been lauded during the pandemic, social care staff were being thrown on a "scrapheap of privatisation," a union rep told a meeting.
Patrick Welsh, Chief Finance Officer of the IJB outlined the plans for savings; a three year budget plan and five year financial strategy.
He added: "The last 15 years have been a period of constrained public sector funding that will continue over the medium term compounded by high inflation.
"Additional expenditure increases each year associated with continuing to deliver care services and as they are delivered currently available will significantly exceed the increases in funding available,and it's not sustainable.
"The estimated gap over the five years is £28.2m while the three year gap is £17.3 m."
Labour's Councillor Andrew McGuire asked about the review of care homes. "The paper highlights that further details will come to the board and that's to be welcomed. I would be interested to hear what kind of consultation you have with service users and their families because I would imagine the prospect of a change in service providers is always a daunting one."
Rob Allen, Senior Manager Community Care promised: "In relation to the review in its entirety, be that within care homes or in housing with care, we will include direct conversations with families and relatives. To gather their views and inform any proposals as we move forward.
"I think it's important to stress for all relatives, residents,carers and their families that we intend to fully engage them in the review."
Jane Ridgeway, chair of the joint trade union committee of Unison, Unite and GMB, led protests outside the Civic Centre, and told protesters: "We know that in [private] care homes staff are expected to change shifts at the drop of a hat, and threatened with the sack if they don't comply.
"We raised this issue with the chief executive of the council who claimed that he did not know the details of the IJB proposals. You are his staff and he claimed he did not know the details of these proposals.
"In terms of budget going the IJB, that comes from the council and the NHS. We saw elected members elected by you choosing prioritise fairy lights over jobs and services, choosing to prioritise toilets in Linlithgow and the leader of the council's constituency over jobs and services. So write to them write to them about your jobs.
"Get in touch with your elected members and get in touch with the council because that's the only thing that will get things moving."
Councillor Damian Doran-Timson told the meeting: "Let's not forget why we are here - it's the chronic underfunding of health and social care by the Scottish Government. I do feel that it's a bit of a Hobson's Choice. We are not really given a decision. It's take it or leave it.
"I do hope that when things come back to us later on we are actually given choices we can actually make and not just agree to at the last minute, if we don't agree this we leave the operation substantially worse off. I do hope we have decisions we can make in good time."
Alison White the Director of Health and Social Care said: "We do acknowledge that it is always preferable to give you options. We, as officers, have struggled to reach the levels of savings required."
She added that the intention during the review would be to come back with timely options.
No SNP councillors sit on the IJB but three; Pauline Clark, Maria MacAulay and Moira McKee-Shemilt attended the meeting in the public gallery as did a union rep and a memeberof the public, with a placard.
And after the meeting the SNP group leader Councillor Janet Campbel condemned the decision. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The SNP group has written to the Integrated Joint Board on this issue as a matter of urgency outlining our serious concerns for the future provision of care services in West Lothian."
Councillor Campbell added: "West Lothian has the fastest growing elderly population in Scotland, so I am hugely concerned at potential proposals to privatise residential care of the elderly, putting a number of jobs at risk and disrupting services for already vulnerable elderly people and people with disabilities."
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