New measures and £112 million to support sector over winter

The Scottish Government has published a plan outlining steps to prepare and support Scotland's social care sector through the winter.

The Adult Social Care Winter Preparedness Plan is backed by an additional £112 million in funding to support social care users in residential, community and home settings, and the people who provide that care, including unpaid carers.

The plan lists a number of actions; those most directly relevant to homecare include:

• expanded testing access for the care at home workforce and designated visitors as soon as the technology and capacity allows
• NHS National Services Scotland to continue to provide free of charge top-up and emergency provision of PPE to ensure staff, unpaid carers, and Social Care Personal Assistants have the PPE they need until at least the end of March 2021
• prioritise a 'home first' approach to care, supporting people to stay home or in a homely setting with maximum independence for as long as possible
• £50 million for the Social Care Staff Support Fund and winter sustainability funding, through to the end of March 2021.