Adults with disabilities who need care through the night will no longer receive sleepover assistance in Glasgow, prompting concerns that many will be put at risk.

The move – prompted by a tribunal ruling that workers on such shifts must be paid the National Living Wage – is being billed by Glasgow health and social care chiefs as a modernisation of the service.

But the council also admits existing sleepover services have been made financially unsustainable by the ruling. It plans to replace sleepovers with alarms, sensor mats and staff on call in a local "rapid response hub".

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Disability organisations have warned that the change could put people in danger, and fear the move by Glasgow will set a precedent that will be followed by councils around the country.

The plans will be set out in a report to be published tomorrow which will be submitted a meeting of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) later this month.

More than 1000 people across the city rely on overnight care in case they need attention through the night.

Most of the 32 organisations providing such sleep-in support and waking night services on behalf of the partnership, have been doing so on the basis that such shifts attracted an "allowance" rather than hourly pay.

However the HSCP will be told the cost of abiding by recent employment tribunals which held that sleepovers must be classed as work would be £12m a year – a rise of £4.5 million.

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The report to Glasgow's HSCP will argue that telecare technology, such as sensors, pressure pads and alarms mean people reliant on such services can still be confident they will be safe during the night.

Carers working in neighbourhood hubs will monitor the technology and respond rapidly to alerts, the report will say, assisting anyone who wakes and needs help.

Glasgow City Council social workers will work with both clients and their carers to draw up personal response plans and highlight the type of technology best suited to their specific needs.

Councillor Mhairi Hunter, Chair of Glasgow City Integration Joint Board

said the plans would transform outdated services which were set up when hundreds of people with learning and physical disabilities left institutions where some had resided for years, nearly 30 years ago.

“Advances in technology have changed life beyond recognition for the vast majority of people in the past 10 years and social care now needs to complement these advances in the services it provides," she said. "We need to modernise care provision – working smarter to increase client confidence and independence while preserving safety."

Jim Elder Woodward, chair of the Scottish Independent Living Coalition, said: "People who need sleepovers need them because they might need help urgently. They can't wait hours. But telecare services often entail long waits.

"This isn't about 'modernisation', it is part of cuts. It is dangerous and I fear people could end up having to go to hospital. it is a false economy," he added.

"If someone is with you that gives you security and reassurance, and that person knows you. The personal care isn't there with telecare staff. This will erode people's ability to live independently and take away choice."

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Annie Gunner Logan, director of the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) said she had been accused of scaremongering when she said an hourly rate for sleepover workers would mean the end of sleepover shifts.

But she said many providers of care had already achieved as much as they could using technological solutions. It also isn't clear how removing sleepovers fits with the government's agenda to give individuals choice and control over the care they receive she said.

She added that providers were willing to change with the times, adding: "This should be about meeting needs and outcomes for individuals, not setting an agenda that is about cost cutting primarily. Sleepovers weren't considered as outdated before they were made unaffordable."

Theresa Shearer, CEO of learning disability charity Enable Scotland, said staff should receive the Scottish Living Wage for every hour worked  whether during the day or night, but that this was challenging for charities and government alike. 

She added: “It is important to recognise that whilst moves to explore innovative solutions, such as Technology Enabled Care, can offer tremendous benefits, it is not appropriate for everyone.

"For some, the reassurance of having a person in their home overnight will remain a central element of the care package that enables them to live independently. We must ensure that we have a skilled and motivated workforce to deliver this for those who need it.”

Cllr Hunter said new technologies offered huge opportunities to refresh and revitalise social care she said, but she admitted cost was also a consideration:

"The current system is outdated and financially unsustainable. As a consequence of the various tribunals, we will move to a system providing locally-based staff who are awake throughout the night and will respond rapidly to help people who need assistance."

She also claimed the new service would be "less intrusive".

Plans for the new service are in their infancy and will be phased in gradually when finalised. The council said it was not yet clear whether people with disabilities would be charged for the alarm and call-out service. Such services are normally viewed as chargeable by councils, while sleepover shifts are not.

The HSCP says service users, carers and stakeholders will be fully involved and supported throughout the change to the new model of care.