The Health and Social Care Partnership Integration Joint Board (IJB) approved the cuts at a meeting yesterday (Thursday, March 20).
Savings include reducing care at home services, reviewing day care, reviewing individual care packages, increasing charges for social care services, introducing criteria to access financial inclusion support, and reviewing early intervention community health and wellbeing programmes.
A council spokesperson admitted: "This means North Ayrshire residents may wait longer for care and support, and the support able to be offered may be less than would have previously been available."
Board members were told that savings of around £4.5m - against an expected total budget of £336m - must be made over the coming financial year.
Labour said the cuts package included:
Labour Councillor Nairn Angus-McDonald voted against the plans and proposed an amendment, which was rejected.
At the meeting, he said: "This is not a good budget. It isn't good for services and it isn't good for staff.
Councillors Nairn Angus-McDonald and Margaret Johnson (Image: NAC)
"It certainly isn't good for the vulnerable people who rely on our services including the elderly, disabled and those suffering from poor mental health.
"The partnership's own equality impact assessments on these cuts make it clear they will have a negative impact on vulnerable people.
"On cuts to care at home, the equality impact assessment says the cuts are 'likely to have a negative effect on older people... likely to lead to greater waiting lists and waiting times, impact on carers and families and could lead to a deterioration for some conditions'.
"This budget is a disaster for North Ayrshire - and worse, it's not even a balanced budget.
"Before this budget is agreed, the partnership is going to owe North Ayrshire Council up to £5 million. On top of that we are approving an underlying deficit of £1.5 million for next year. And we have no reserves. The future risks with setting a budget like this are astronomical."
He said later: "As someone who has spent most of their three decades on this earth as an unpaid carer, I cannot in good conscience vote for a reduction in care at home staff.
"I know too well the impact this would have on those under our care. I know the workers in this service are at burnout and we should be investing in them not reducing support."
In June 2024, a financial recovery plan was developed by the HSCP to reduce a projected overspend and aim to balance the budget in 2024-25.
A council spokesperson said: "Despite solid progress around the plan, which reduced in-year spend by £4m, service pressures have led to a final overspend projection of around £5m for 2024-25, of which £1.5m will continue into 2025-26.
"The main areas of pressure include an increasing demand for care at home services, residential placements for children unable to remain at home with their birth families, care packages for residents with physical and learning disabilities, supplementary staff in wards, staff costs at Montrose House nursing home on Arran, and unplanned activities within mental health services.
"With these pressures set to remain a challenge over the coming years, recovery plan actions and controls will continue throughout 2025-26 and beyond."
Councillor Margaret Johnson, chair of the IJB, said: "We have seen an unprecedented rise in demand for health and social care services across the country over the past few years, with the number of people requiring support continuing to increase year on year.
"While there will undoubtedly be many challenges to face when balancing the budget in the coming years, we are confident that by implementing real transformational change, and carrying on with our current recovery plans, that we can continue to focus on meeting health and care outcomes for people in North Ayrshire.
"We want to have open and honest conversations with our communities over the scale of the challenge and impact, and work together with our communities to understand the local priorities for services as we move forward."