Social care sector is failing older Scots, warns charity

Scotland's "crumbling" social care sector is "failing older people", campaigners warned, as new figures showed the number of people waiting for a care assessment has risen by almost a third in the last year.

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As the number of people waiting for care rises, the number of care homes falls

Official figures showed that as of October 6 there were 7,913 people in Scotland waiting for an assessment to be carried out so they can have a care package put in place - with this up 32 per cent from October 2024.

Public Health Scotland figures showed a further 3,302 are waiting for their care package to be put in place having been assessed - with this total up by 2 per cent from 12 months ago.

At the same time, separate figures showed the number of care homes available in Scotland has fallen by almost a fifth over the last decade.

As of March 31 this year, there were 1,003 care homes for adults, 18 per cent fewer than in March 2015.

The number of places available had also fallen over the decade, dropping by 5 per cent to stand at 39,919 by the end of March this year.