More than £17 million worth of cuts to health and social care services in Dundee have been approved.
The Dundee Integration Joint Board (IJB) approved its 2025/2026 budget on Wednesday.
It oversees services delivered by the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership (DHSCP).
The partnership runs adult and older people’s community social care, and residential care and care at home.
It also operates community health, palliative care, mental health and learning disability services.
What has been approved?
The approved budget will see a series of measures implemented which will save the IJB around £17.5 million.
This includes reducing care home placements bought from the private sector, which bosses say will generate a saving of £500k.
A number of services will also be subject to further review, the results of which will be brought back to the IJB during the year for further consideration.
This includes community meals, palliative care and medicine for the elderly services.
Other measures include:
- Reducing supplementary staffing spend.
- A review and reduction of senior management structure
- A review and reduction of high-cost care packages
- Removal of long-term vacant posts.
- A housing with care review.
However, the budget also committed to spending £320.4 million on delivering health and social care services across the city.
This is expected to be met through £114.4m from Dundee City Council and £206m from NHS Tayside.
Fears cuts will affect most vulnerable
During the meeting, concerns were raised about the “stressful” budget and chair of the IJB, councillor Ken Lynn, said he had “many misgivings”.
He added: “I’ve been involved in many budget processes in almost 18 years as a councillor – whether they be IBJ budgets or the annual council budgets – and this is by far and away the most stressful.”
These concerns were echoed by councillor Dorothy McHugh, who abstained from the vote amid fears the cuts would “adversely affect the most vulnerable” in the city.
Despite this, the budget was subsequently passed with five out of the six IJB members voting to approve it.
Conversation