Jackie Baillie has called for the SNP to come clean on the effect their cuts to local councils will have on care for older people.

Official analysis from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde shows that West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care partnership, vital to the provision of care for vulnerable people in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven, will start off having to find £1.5 million to close the funding gap.

Jackie said that cutting local services will have a negative impact on our older people and make delivering proper social care in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond even more difficult.

Health board officials are meeting next week (5^th April) to consider the cuts to local health services in order to meet its £69 million savings target for this year. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed in a letter that the SNP Government has told health boards that they can delay the publication of their local plans, meaning local people will not know the full impact on care for the elderly or services at the Vale of Leven Hospital until after the election.

Scottish Labour will make fairer choices on tax to stop cuts to local services and spend the health budget more effectively, with an additional £300 million for social care to guarantee a care package within a week of assessment.

Jackie said:

“The integration of health and social care was supposed to lead to a transformation in care for the most vulnerable but this report shows that here in West Dunbartonshire the service will start the year having to find £1.5 million to close the gap in their budget. This will have an impact on how we care for older people in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven and the SNP need to come clean about the consequences of their decision to slash council budgets.

“This report makes it clear that older people will pay the price for the hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts handed down to local councils by SNP Ministers, with concerns that care of the elderly services may be at risk. Labour would invest an additional £300 million in social care, to deliver a care package within a week of assessment. No one should be left waiting for weeks and weeks on end for a care package.

“It is also scandalous that the SNP Government has instructed health boards to delay the publication of their local plans. This means that local people will not be told where the axe will fall until after the election. We need a clear commitment from the SNP now that it will guarantee the future of all current local health and social care services, particularly those at the Vale of Leven Hospital