Apologetic Aberdeenshire health boss admits care cuts 'caused distress' as she vows to 'repair broken trust'
Newly appointed health boss Leigh Jolly has apologised for the 'confusion and distress' inflicted upon residents hit by social care cuts.
Ms Jolly took on the leading role at Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) in April after former chief Pam Milliken moved on amid a major funding crisis.
And her first task was to get the controversial recovery plan drafted by her predecessor over the line in a bid to save the partnership £17 million.
This included slashing a number of services – including axing daycare projects and transport for the disabled, as well as devising a drastic redesign of in-house home care.
The proposed changes and lack of information sparked outrage among residents, who feared their loved ones would be left without the vital care they need.
Ms Jolly has now admitted that they haven't communicated the plans appropriately, and apologised for the worry and distress project leaders have caused to all affected by the cuts.
Kicking off a six-hour debate, the health chief admitted they have failed to explain the savings project correctly, leaving people with 'conflated and confusing' information.
And she promised to learn from that mistake going forward after members of the Integration Joint Board voted through all of the proposed cuts yesterday.
As part of the recovery plan, home care and Aberdeenshire Responders Care at Home Service (Arch) will be merged, while all transport for disabled people will be axed.
Daycare activities for older people across three very sheltered housing facilities will also be slashed from 10 to five sessions per week, and eight learning disability projects will be terminated.
However, Ms Jolly stressed that none of these will be enforced before a suitable alternative is found for each person who needs care.
She said: 'In my previous role as chief social work officer, I outlined that we would not leave anyone who was assessed as having substantial or critical need without a service.
'We have to date not got this right for everyone, and I sincerely apologise to anyone who has been impacted and left worried by any of our communications and actions.
'And while we still have to make significant changes, we would do this openly and honestly to ensure that no one is left without an alternative plan.'
Several concerned residents went before the board to share their personal experiences in hope of halting the bemoaned cuts to their care services.
Through tears, Sandra Wood spoke of non-verbal son Fraser, who might lose his nurturing environment at Fraserburgh Day Opportunities once the criteria is changed.
Meanwhile, Denise MacDonald told the board about her sister-in-law Ellie, who has Down's syndrome and needs to be monitored regularly.
She attends the same centre as Fraser five days a week and now her spot there is at risk, with her sessions potentially dropping down to two or three.
After listening to their heartfelt stories, Ms Jolly once again promised to work with all families to ensure no one loses out on the care they need.
She acknowledged the discrepancies in how the drastic changes have been communicated and how they have been perceived by residents.
And she admitted this is their mistake to fix.
She said: 'I think the trust is broken, and we have a lot of work to do to regain the trust of the people in our communities.
'I'm hoping that those of you who have experienced confusion or distress have had feedback from the services by now to say that we've got this wrong.
'As your new chief officer, what you will get from me is honesty – we will put our hands up, say we haven't got things right and work together to ensure that we do get it right.'
She then explained that these closures will not happen overnight, and vowed to learn from their mistakes and reach out to each family about how they would be impacted.
Now that the initial proposals have been agreed, health officials will start ironing out the details of each of the changes.
This would involve setting up a new eligibility criteria for home and day care, figuring out alternative plans with private providers and sorting out possible redundancies.
Ms Jolly added: 'What I want to do is understand and have a real picture of every single person who will be impacted by any decisions.
'And then, I want us to create a very clear plan in terms of communication and how we come meet families in your communities and talk to you face to face.
'We absolutely have to listen to what you've got to say and use that to inform our decision-making.'
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