Care

We set out the design for a National Care Service capable of breaking the cycle of failure demand and supporting people to live the best lives they can.

Some Health Related Reports

Read all our Collected CARE papers↗

A collection of everything we've published relating to the kind of National Care Service Scotland deserves.

Caring For All↗

Caring For All: Is Common Weal's Blueprint for a National Care Service for Scotland. This is a plan which is comprehensive and ambitious but realistic and achievable.

What Is Care?↗

Covid has changed the discussion about care. For Common Weal Care should be based on building and sustaining relationships with those who are cared for, whilst improving the sector for all those who provide care to others

Care In Our Community↗

Our proposal for Community hubs, managed and delivered at a local level.

Health, Safety and Welfare of the Social Care Workforce ↗

The welfare of our care workers should be paramount here is why.

Picture care as it should be: Transforming the lives of both carers and those who are cared for. 

Read as retiree Mary tells us how Scotland’s care system has improved since independence. Her carer doesn’t feel rushed anymore, is paid a fair wage and Mary and her family feel the care service is much simpler to understand. Common Weal has created a fictional character to demonstrate how independence could provide Scotland with an incredible care service that puts people first.

Mary's Story

Hello I’m Mary, I live here in Inverness with my husband John. Both of us worked for some years in the NHS. Since retiring I've explored my other love; cooking. I have quite a reputation for bringing food at community events where we stay. 

A few years ago I had a serious fall. I spent time in hospital and had to undergo a lot of tests. I struggled to get out and about as I used to. I relied on my husband and our daughters even just to get out and visit my friends who live close by. I think we were all a bit frustrated at that time. 

Around then I received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s. It was a real shock and took a while to come to terms with, but eventually life started to really improve.

Most importantly that’s when I met Diane. She's my home carer. From the moment I sat down with her to discuss what our family needed, it all became simpler. Most of all it's that bit of time -two afternoon visits a week- that has given us all more time as a family.

There was a time in Scotland when we talked about care in terms of ‘resources’. I hate to think that back then what people needed was weighed up against how far it could be stretched and the strain that put on carers.

That’s not the case anymore. Partly it's because Diane has time to sit and give me advice, there is always time for a conversation and in return I share some of my recipes. She has explained that this is part of her job, with less guidelines and paperwork to follow now than was the case in the past.

I take my hat off to everyone who works as a carer. It doesn't look like a bad job, to be able to manage yourself and be creative with the support you give people. 

I trust Diane and I never feel judged. In some ways I’ve seen her work get simpler, as we have more in place at home to manage ourselves. When I need further advice it's only a short journey up the road to the local Care Hub, John’s been able to receive the Carers’ Supplement to Universal Basic Income. This helps to make our pensions stretch much further. 
Our lives are moving forward as a result. We have even been able to apply for a few changes to the house, it's going to be paid for by the local authority, which was news to me!

Common Weal have long said that getting care right will benefit all of us. If you found hope in Mary’s story, join us in our efforts to get a proper National Care Service. Visit #SORTED to see what else we have to say on the topic.