Alzheimer Scotland wholeheartedly welcomes the Independent Review of Adult Social Care. We congratulate Derek Feeley and the panel of expert advisers on such a well-considered and comprehensive report. This report is clearly informed by people who have experiences of the social care system and we are pleased that people with dementia, families and carers were given the opportunity to contribute.
The principles that underpin the recommendations and proposals are fully in line with the beliefs and views of Alzheimer Scotland. They focus on prevention, individual choice, power and control, a human rights based approach and a value for contribution and investment as opposed to burden and crisis. There is no doubt that these guiding principles, which will build on the dedicated commitment of the existing social care workforce, will help lead the way in revolutionising our social care system to one that will deliver the highest possible quality of personalised social care support. In particular, the focus on early intervention and prevention resonates with our developments in early diagnosis and post diagnostic support for people living with dementia and their families, as the report notes on page 64. This focus also echoes the aims and ambitions of Brain Health Scotland.
We fully endorse the recommendations around the National Care Service. Alongside this, we are delighted to see the recommendation to end non-residential social care charges and to tackle the inequality that we have exposed in charges for people with dementia living in residential care by increasing the levels of Free Personal and Nursing Care. We would like to see further details on this particular recommendation, as it is our main objective to bring an end to this inequality. Therefore, we hope the Scottish Government will fully commit to implementing the recommendations around social care charges and we look forward to hearing any proposed timescales for implementation, which will be vital in helping accelerate an end to this inequality.
As co-chair of the Fair Work Convention Social Care enquiry, I am particularly delighted that the report adopts and reinforces the recommendations and conclusions we made in 2019. If the recommendations are fully implemented, we will at long last provide this workforce with the fair work terms and conditions and recognition that they deserve.
Henry Simmons
Chief Executive