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Call to extend free care policy in Scotland

Date published: 09/02/2006

Scotland's policy of free personal care should be extended to all disabled people, carers groups have argued. Giving evidence to Holyrood's health committee, Carers Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland lobbied MSPs to extend the policy, claiming that the current restriction was an "ageist policy".

Carers Scotland is calling for free personal care, including help with washing, dressing and grooming, to be extended to all disabled people under 65-years-old. It also called for the range of services to be extended, encompassing schemes such as meals-on-wheels, day care and lunch clubs. The group, which represents carers, said: "It is essential that free personal care for older people is not seen in isolation but instead is part of the wider health and social care agenda. We would therefore suggest extension beyond its original remit to include quality of life services."

Alzheimer's Scotland echoed this claim, calling for free personal care to be offered to all people suffering from conditions such as dementia. It is unclear how responsive the Scottish executive will be to calls to extend its flagship scheme. A study recently warned that the existing costs of providing free personal care could triple over the next 50 years.

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