Tag Archives: Older care
What can we do to improve care in the home?
At its worst, the current system encourages neglect and poor care. But we need help to spread great homecare across the UK
Norman Lamb
We currently have a system that at its worst can reward and promote poor care, encourage low wages and allow neglect to flourish. While we know that homecare, for the most part, is carried out to a good standard – it still leaves far too many cases of poor and unacceptable levels of care in the home.
One of the most common complaints I come across is where care is carried out by the clock. Carers will come to the house and have a time slot of around 15 minutes to get everything done and be off to the next appointment. But 15 minutes may not be enough to do what is needed. So appointments are rushed through – trying to get everything done – in or out of bed; getting washed; trying to bolt down food or take medication. It is no wonder that these visits can be stressful and unpleasant.
‘Woefully inadequate homecare presents a massive challenge’
Government summit hears that reform is needed to reverse ‘race to the bottom’ on care amid budget squeeze and ageing population
The timing was accidental — but striking. On the day the government was hosting a summit to drive improvements in the way some of the most vulnerable members of society are cared for at home, the BBC released TV footage showing the human impact of failings in the system. The scenes showing an 83-year-old woman becoming upset as her carer failed to turn up on time were a stark reminder that some of the care provided to people in their own homes is woefully inadequate.
As care and support minister Norman Lamb put it: “The report on the BBC was not an isolated experience — we know there are lots of examples, along with the very good care we also see. We have all got a responsibility to address the fact that there are some very vulnerable people at risk in their own homes. Behind your own front door you are particularly vulnerable because no one can see what’s happening.”
Comment: Don’t pay MPs a penny more
If they live like the rich they will have the concerns of the rich.
Monday, 1 July 2013 8:56 AM By Ian Dunt
Although it can never be said in public, there is a consensus in professional circles. MPs, we are told, need to be paid more.
It is considered one of the great political unsayables: a truth recognised in private which can never be uttered in public, like drug law reform or an amnesty for illegal immigrants. This is not confined just to the political class. You find this view among many professionals and businesspeople. It is common among that most select and self-serving of groups: people who are paid a lot of money.
