UNISON

North Ayrshire

PUBLIC WORKS

My name is Ronnie Gill and I am a UNISON shop steward

I work in Kiln Court Residential unit for older people in Irvine and I am a Social Care Worker. In Kiln Court we have 14 permanent places and 2 respite places for older people who can no longer be at home.

We provide a 24 hour 7 days a week all year round service. We offer a safe and caring environment for older people and our aim is to have our residents feel comfortable and have their families feel that their loved ones are in the best environment for them, and that they are happy to be there.

All the care staff are fully qualified: the Council give us continuous training in such matters as dementia and palliative care, nutrition and hygiene.

I am proud to provide this service to the community as a public service. Privatisation of residential services can lead to poorer quality services as private care providers are under immense pressure to make profits for the company and can end up with services run by overworked staff on poor wages.”

UNISON

North Ayrshire

PUBLIC WORKS

VITAL SERVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Young Persons’ Support Team

My name is Caroline Garrigan and I am a Young Person’s Support Worker within North Ayrshire Social Services. I’m a member of UNISON

Our Service provides support to young people and families in the community. We help young people who are in trouble before problems escalate and they have to go to Children’s Hearings. This helps them stay in control of their lives and remain with their families and in their local schools. We help young people who have issues with offending, drugs or alcohol, or problems at school.

We work closely with parents and with schools. Our service has evolved over many years and my colleagues and I have built up a lot of experience and skills thanks to the training provided by the Council. We think we provide a good service that prevents some young people’s situations from getting worse.

We think that’s good value for money and we are proud of what we do.

UNISON North Ayrshire the public services union

quality public services — provided locally