Care minister orders review over 15-minute home visits

The government is to announce a review into 15-minute care visits to vulnerable elderly and disabled people following concerns that such appointments deprive people of their dignity and put unfair pressure on staff.

In response to criticism from charities, the care minister Norman Lamb will say that from next April the Care Quality Commission will look at whether home care visits are "long enough to respond to people's needs" and "consider looking at how staff working conditions might be impacting on care".

In a speech to the National Children and Adult Services conference, Lamb will say that the regulator will consider not only whether care is "delivered with compassion, dignity and respect", but also how many staff are employed on zero-hour contracts, considered to be the reason why up to 220,000 care workers get less than the minimum wage.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Government launches new care comparison website

Information to help people choose, compare and comment on residential care homes and home care services is now available on NHS Choices.

The new care profiles provide the most comprehensive source of information on care services. Launched today by Care and Support Minister, Norman Lamb, they help people to search and compare residential care homes and home care services and make confident choices about registered care for themselves or family members.

Full News Release on Gov.uk

Elderly home care failures breach human rights, report finds

Elderly people are being robbed, left hungry and unwashed and face unchecked "ageism" from council-funded care that is meant to let them live in their own homes, a report has found.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission report into home care, which is commissioned by local authorities to help people dress, wash, eat and take medicines, said there was evidence of a "systematic failure" across the country and that elderly people's human rights were being breached.

The report which is partly based on the experiences of 1,200 older people, their friends and family, found examples of treatment that including cases of physical and financial abuse. Findings included carers neglecting tasks because councils paid for too little of their time. There was also a chronic disregard for older people's privacy and a disregard for clients' dignity when carrying out intimate tasks.

Full Article on Guardian