CUTBACKS at Caley Court Drug and Alcohol Recovery Centre in Stevenston have led to staff morale being at an all time low, concerns over safety and workers quitting, it has been claimed.

A relative of a staff member at the resource centre, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the cutbacks from the Health and Social Care Partnership had a horrendous impact.

They told the Herald: “Morale is at an all time low and staff fear for their safety. There was an incident recently where a man grabbed a TV off the wall – the staff had to lock themselves in a room.

“There has been cutbacks in services and events and there has been talks of a move from the current building.

“To say there has been no cuts to services is a total lie.

“There is also concern about the number of deaths through addiction services. Staff are only finding out weeks later - they don’t want this information out there.

“It’s not a Health and Social Care Partnership, it’s a takeover. Everyone has that opinion.”

But the North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership insisted procedures were in place and they were working hard with staff members to ensure a good working environment. They denied cuts to daily services.

A spokesperson said: “Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are changing the way health and social care services are delivered.

“In North Ayrshire, we are working closely with locally-based third and independent sector groups to provide services and care that promote community involvement and enable people to be more actively involved in creating and participating in activities.

“This ever-evolving model is person-centred and promotes independence, recovery and inclusion in communities. It moves away from traditional service-centred, professionally dependent health and social care services.

"North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (NADARS) links closely with community projects and activities, while promoting and encouraging self-care and recovery.

"Simultaneously, North Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) supports the development of new initiatives to promote involvement and participation of people with lived experience of alcohol and drug issues.

“By promoting recovery and supporting the development of local groups and activities - including support groups, recovery cafes, jogging and walking groups, family activities, craft and sports groups - we are also working to address the stigma surrounding those seeking help and support for their alcohol and drug problems.

“Therefore, over the last three years, the way that groups and activities are managed/operated has changed. Local peer workers and people who use our services work with the ADP to promote and create recovery-focused initiatives across North Ayrshire, while promoting links to existing community led groups and activities.”

But the whistleblower said that money has been spent and changes have been made – to the negative impact of the staff.

They added: “Thousands were spent on the site at the Eglinton Allotments and it was just given away and they withdrew staff support for the Fitba4U programme These people used to get support once or twice a week and now it is months apart.

“There has been a lot of people unhappy that these groups have been finished.

“There is not enough cover and they are closing cases prematurely because of staff absences. It is chaotic.

“It’s a horrible place to work. Some people can work from home no questions asked and others have to give a detailed account of their work.

“There are people leaving left, right and centre and there is a difference between the NHS and social care.

“It’s a dictatorship and it has changed dramatically. It has went totally downhill since it changed and now it is the beginning of the end. Good workers are jumping ship because they can’t do the job. It is mainly the clients that are suffering and the staff are not confident enough to speak up as they will get a target on their back."

A spokesperson for the Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We actively promote staff attendance and closely monitor staff absence. Policies and procedures are in place to support staff who are absent from work, including occupational health and staff care services. People who access our services continue to be supported by the service, with the most vulnerable being prioritised for more immediate support.

“There have been no cuts to North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (NADARS) services that are available daily.

“Communication has been identified as an area of improvement and we have implemented a variety of improvements, as identified by NADARS staff. Incidents of violence and aggression will not be tolerated by our organisation and are treated extremely seriously.

“Each incident is risk managed and action taken includes, police involvement, multi-disciplinary incident reviews, alternative service user support arrangements, staff debrief and staff support mechanisms. We also have robust systems in place to alert staff to potential risks.”