SOCIAL care budgets in Argyll and Bute will be affected by the use of agency staff to cover care at home hours, a councillor has said.
Councillor Dougie McFadzean (SNP, Kintyre and the Islands) said in a report that a total of 1,019.75 hours of care per week, for 102 people, needed alternative arrangements made after Carers Direct went out of business and Oban Community Carers withdrew.
He also said that three accommodation units in Kintyre, and one in Oban, were in the process of being leased to support workforce sustainability.
Councillor Amanda Hampsey (Reform UK, Oban South and the Isles) questioned Cllr McFadzean on the report during a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council on Wednesday, September 23.
She said: “Can the policy lead quantify what the increased agency reliance is now costing the health and social care partnership (HSCP) compared with the position before any provider failures, and what the timescale for reducing the reliance is?”
Cllr McFadzean responded: “It has adversely affected Oban and the Kintyre area around Campbeltown, where those two operators worked. I do not have the figures for the additional costs but will get them to you.
“The plan is to look at an opportunity to bring provision in-house, which will take some considerable time to maintain the care for those clients.
“Agency staff have had to be used and accommodation has had to be found for them. Agency staff tend to be more expensive than contracted staff. We reached out, but the quotes were more expensive.”
Cllr Hampsey then said: “I am presuming the quotes are from local companies that came in more expensive than agency staff? And do you have a target level for agency usage?
“We obviously need to ensure that everybody is getting the care required to a high standard of care, which has to be the absolute focus. Do we have a target level for agency staff?”
Cllr McFadzean said: “Continuity and familiar faces are important, as opposed to one stranger after another. Local companies and ones from further afield where asked to step in and provide resilience.
“There is no target for the number of agency staff. The priority is to ensure the service is being provided. Where there is a gap there is significant budgetary pressure, and agency staff do not have the same continuity.
“There is no cap on the number of agency staff, so it will have an impact on our budget.”
