UNISON, the union for home care workers, today called on the Government to suspend its drive for so-called efficiency that has left hundreds of thousands of elderly people with just a 15-minute home care package.
Local authorities have delivered £314m of savings in adult care services this year and are forecasting a further £213m for next, to comply with the Gershon review, with a devastating impact on the lives of the independent elderly.
UNISON National Secretary, Heather Wakefield, said:
ÒYou canÕt deliver good quality care in a 15-minute slot. This is a
disgraceful way to treat our elderly. They are often the soft option, many too frightened to complain in case they lose the limited time they have.
“The Government talks about enabling people to live in their own homes, about dignity and well-being, yet the funding situation for local authorities has left them with just this skeleton service.
ÒThis puts intolerable pressure on homecare staff. ItÕs difficult enough to recruit and retain staff on the low pay and poor conditions offered by many of the private contractors that have taken over this work.
ÒMost private contractors donÕt even pay staff for travelling time between visits. If staff spend extra time dealing with an emergency, making someone comfortable or taking the time to talk through worries or concerns, they will end up having to do so in their own time and under pressure to catch up with their schedule for the rest of the day. Too many staff vote with their feet and leave because they are not able to provide the standard of care that they believe people are entitled to.Ó
The union is urging the Government to ensure adequate funding as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review; to return privatised contractors back in-house. Home care should be properly funded and integrated within social services so that they can fulfil their vital role as the eyes and ears of social services, reporting any problems early.
ends