Vulnerable Fifers in need of a home care package are to face extra scrutiny as health and social care budgets are squeezed.
Bosses are to set up a panel of service managers and finance staff to look at every request from April, budget papers have revealed.
If approved, the move will save £700,000 as part of the drive to cut spending by £39 million – £15m of which is already agreed.
Managers say it will streamline the service and give every person a package proportionate to their needs.
And waits for care, both for people in hospital and in the community, will be reduced.
At present, Fife community care workers support around 1,000 people in their own homes.
And, depending on need, packages can include help with getting out of bed in the morning, washing, dressing and toileting.
Fife home care ‘key part of overspend’
Members of Fife’s integration joint board will be asked to approve a swathe of savings when they meet on Thursday.
And chief finance officer Audrey Valente has warned care packages form a key area of the overspend.
The extra scrutiny will include “a robust assessment process” for Fife residents who need ongoing care at home.
It comes alongside a plan to cut rehabilitation beds and bring in the Red Cross to support people recovering from illness at home.
Ms Valente says “significant financial challenges lie ahead”.
And she has urged board members to fully consider the longer-term financial consequences of any decisions made.
Focusing on efficiency and redesign now could avoid the need for difficult decisions later, including the decommissioning of services, she added.
Other ‘efficiency savings’ and price rises
Fife Health and Social Care Partnership plans to find £6.4m in savings through redesigning services.
Meanwhile, bosses have also identified £12m in “efficiencies”.
These include going back to the pre-covid level of cleaning in care homes to save £500,000.
And work to reduce unnecessary prescribing will save another £2.4m.
Fife Council has agreed a 5% increase in charges for meals of wheels, community alarms and supported living rents.
And this will bring in an extra £500,000.
Conversation