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Care Services

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For the GSD investing in public services that support the most vulnerable members of our society has been and remains a fundamental core policy, as well as constituting one of the ways in which we have distributed some of the wealth that our successful economy has created, thus ensuring that all sectors of the community benefit from it.

When the GSD arrived in office in 1996 Gibraltar had practically no government run care services, and what little there was were underfunded, under staffed, under-developed, not up to modern European standards and mostly run by charities.

Therefore, one of the GSD’s policy priorities in government has been to nationalise, professionalise, expand and modernise our care services. Huge strides forward have been made as a result of which our Care Services are now unrecognisable from the shoe string and backward operations that we inherited from the previous GSLP government in 1996:

• • Annual spending on care services has increased more than 700% (despite inflation of only 37% during the same period) from the GSLP’s £1,870,000 in 1996 to the GSD Government’s £14,687,620 now;

• • The number of staff employed in delivering social care services has increased from 110 in 1996 to 510 now, an increase of 400 staff or over 350%!

• • The number of social workers has increased from 7 to 25;

• • Establishment of unified Care Agency to deliver all care services in a coordinated and structured manner;

• • Basic Care Services taken over by Government, such as Mount Alvernia, the Jewish Home, Dr Giraldi Home, Drugs & Alcohol rehabilitation. Mount Alvernia has been transformed into a quality old peoples' home and it has been expanded from 62 to 135 beds!;

• • Development of counselling services;

• • Expansion of ‘half way’ house facilities for Women, and new women’s hostel at Lopez Ramp; changes to matrimonial laws and to old age pension scheme to benefit divorced women;

• • Huge range of Elderly policies (for which please see Elderly Policy Section)

• • Establishment of care services for Children including a Children’s Act (child protection and rights legislation), a statutory fostering service for children, a counselling psychology service, a dedicated children/family social worker team, new homes for children in care, legislation to better protect children from drinking and smoking, big increases in Child welfare grants;

• • Establishment of Drugs & Substance Abuse services, including Gibraltar’s own rehabilitation centre at Bruce’s Farm, and the Gladys Perez after care centre in Main Street; appointment of anti - Drugs Coordinator and implementation of Drugs strategy; community anti-drugs service and educational programmes;

• • Focus on care services for the Family, including dedicated family social worker team; reform of matrimonial breakdown legislation to make it fairer on families including pension sharing, financial arrangements, access arrangements and distribution of leaflets to all houses on “family for life” and parenting plans; improved access to courts for family matters with dedicated “family” judge; maternity grants up by 1000%; Maternity allowance introduced and since increased by 54%; death grants up by 455%; social assistance up by 40%; paternity grants; big increases in child welfare grants.

• • Development of Disability care services including conversion of Dr Giraldi Home into separate, non-institutionalised homes; big increase in staffing levels; structured family respite service; mobility aids; swimming pool for disabled; all new street refurbishments disability friendly; disability friendly new city buses; anti discrimination legislation; unfreezing of and big (+240%) increases in Disability Allowance; blue badge parking scheme and disabled parking bays; Eastern Beach disability facilities;

Our Care Services remain a priority for the GSD. They will be further expanded and developed until Gibraltar is fully in line with modern European care standards and services for our most vulnerable citizens. This is the true mark of a civilised and prosperous society.

For example, projects currently under way include a new mental health hospital, a new specialised residential home and a “day care” centre for sufferers of Alzeimer’s and dementia, new sheltered and supervised housing for the semi independent elderly and a ‘half way house’ for men.