Care at home services face longer waits in North Ayrshire

This is because of severe budget cuts affecting the Health and Social Care Partnership as North Ayrshire Council is forced to slash costs, it was revealed by North Coast Conservative councillor Tom Marshall, who has recently joined as a member of the partnership.

Speaking at a recent community council meeting in Largs, Cllr Marshall told the audience that next year's council budget looks very difficult indeed, and there would be a subsequent impact on the health and care services provided to the public, which include social work, mental health and care at home services.

Cllr Marshall said: "There is a huge demand for care at home services so the North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership are unfortunately going to have to re-examine that, and check if people really do need the level of care."

Cllr Marshall has revealed care at home packages could face longer waits to be offered (Image: Newsquest)

One woman in the audience branded the move 'ridiculous' but Cllr Marshall countered; "The budget is going to be very very difficult next year. I have now joined the health and social care partnership which is funded by the council and health board, and there is going to have to be cutbacks.

"It might be a ridiculous situation but there is no money, and now as a result, it will take longer to find out for people if they will get a care at home package."

A link to the North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership 'X' social media page brings up a 404 page not found message, the News discovered.
In February of this year, changes were made to the way North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership provided Care at Home services for people in North Ayrshire.

From June, all service users who ask North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership to make care arrangements on their behalf now have their service provided by North Ayrshire Council’s in-house Care at Home team.

Care at Home services in North Ayrshire are currently provided using a mixed model of in-house and purchased care to over 2,000 people across the mainland localities and on the islands of Arran and Cumbrae. The Care at Home service is a vital lifeline, providing personal care and practical supports with health and social care needs to a range of people, ensuring they can remain living safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

The in-house Care at Home team currently provides the majority of the care provided to people across North Ayrshire, with some receiving care from one of three providers currently contracted to provide these services on partnership's behalf.

A North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership spokesperson said: “The Health and Social Care Partnership continues to face significant financial and service pressures. The most recent financial performance report for 2024-25 presented to the IJB on September 19 reported an in-year projected overspend of £6.7m and outlined the requirement for financial recovery actions to reduce this overspend.

“A number of areas of immediate focus for financial recovery were set out in June, which included strengthening the governance and oversight of our financial position and a review of all expenditure plans and commitments. In addition, some changes will need to be made to the ways in which our services are delivered and the capacity within services.

“The financial position is down to significant demands being placed across our services to meet the needs of North Ayrshire residents and the increasing cost of delivering those health and care services. This includes the Care at Home service, where a projected overspend of £3.2m is reported for the year. There are currently over 2,000 residents in North Ayrshire receiving a Care at Home service.

“Ongoing reviews are currently being undertaken with Care at Home service users to identify whether there are other supports that could be put in place to ensure that the independence of each individual is maximised. In addition, we are carrying out a review of our referral pathways to ensure earlier intervention and support that may prevent individuals from requiring the same level of service from the Care at Home teams - for example, by promoting the uptake of our Community Alarm service where appropriate.

“These actions will ensure that we are using our available resources and technologies in the best possible way to prioritise those with the greatest levels of need within our communities. However, these actions alone are unlikely to address the underlying overspend and reduce the service provision back to a level in line with the available budget. Therefore, there is also a requirement to reduce the overall capacity of the service, which may result in an increase in the number of people waiting for services and the length of wait.

“The capacity and demands placed on the service will continue to be carefully managed to ensure that individuals with the greatest level of need are prioritised, including individuals requiring end of life care and those requiring hospital discharge.”