West Dunbartonshire home carers "unvalued, ignored and anxious" in service

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Stressed home carers say they are “undervalued, ignored, exhausted and full of anxiety” following a radical overhaul which they claim is leaving the area’s most vulnerable residents at risk.The Lennox met with three experienced staff members who have spoken out following a restructure of West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s (HSCP) Care at Home service last year.The carers, who have all spoken anonymously, say the changes have stretched the service to breaking point with a chaotic scheduling system which changes at the last minute and cuts their time with clients - leaving them in fear of disciplinary action if they are late multiple times.The Lennox also understands that the pressure on the service has resulted in new referrals for care packages not currently being accepted, unless it’s for complex or end of life care.The carers, from Alexandria, Dumbarton and Clydebank, say services hit crisis point earlier this month, with soaring absence rates leading to relatives receiving a text to say the service was under pressure - and asking families to help ease the strain by organising their own care.One of the carers told the Lennox: “There are clients with family who don’t live in the country and who aren’t able to get here at short notice.“Those people could be going without any support or even a meal for a whole weekend, especially if they aren’t mobile.“It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and we are all extremely worried about our clients.“The changes have left the most vulnerable in our community at risk.“They should never be relying on families.”She said West Dunbartonshire HSCP told families they could contact them if it wasn’t possible to organise care, but that one family didn’t realise the option was