THE needs of carers, disabled and older people “must be at the heart of plans for easing lockdown,” the Scottish Government has been told.

The comment from Carers Scotland came after Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged that the “horrendously difficult judgments” she has been forced to make in the coronavirus crisis have left unpaid carers in Scotland in tough situations.

Across the country, care packages and services have been paused or stopped, while day centres remain unable to open while social distancing is in place.

Last week Carers Scotland warned that a reduction in services was leaving unpaid carers facing burnout.

Yesterday, The National raised the plight of unpaid carers at the Scottish Government’s daily press briefing, telling the First Minister about one of our readers who is having to juggle full-time care for her dad (who has advanced Alzheimer’s), holding down a full-time job, and looking after two school-aged children.

Sturgeon told us: “My strong burning desire is to get us back to as much normality as quickly as possible but that is equalled by my strong burning desire not to allow this virus to claim any more lives than absolutely is unavoidable.

“And so, those two things have to be balanced and these are horrendously difficult judgments and they’re judgments that have to be made rationally but they are judgments that are imbued with emotional considerations.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said the Government had “taken steps to ensure that unpaid carers can have access to the personal protective equipment that they need in these circumstances”.

Freeman said she struggled to understand why care packages have been cut in the pandemic, saying: “I find it unacceptable that social care packages that existed before this pandemic have been reduced and in some cases cut completely since the pandemic appeared.

“I can see no good reason why that has to be the case.”

Freeman said the Government had put in place financial and staffing support.

Fiona Collie, from Carers Scotland, welcomed the comments: “The needs of carers, disabled and older people must be at the heart of plans for easing lockdown.

“We know that the Cabinet Secretary for Health has committed to looking closely at the recommendations from our report, Caring Behind Closed Doors.

“We hope that the Scottish Government in considering these recommendations will work with carers organisations, and crucially carers themselves, to identify and set out what supports – practical, financial and for physical and mental health – can be put in place to help carers and those they care for as we move forward.”