The Equality and Human Rights Commission's inquiry into the home
care system in England reveals disturbing evidence that the poor
treatment of many older people is breaching their human rights.
The final report, 'Close to home: older people and human rights
in home care', published on 23 November, says hundreds of thousands
of older people lack protection under the Human Rights Act. It
questions commissioning practices that focus on a rigid list of
tasks, rather than what older people actually want, and that gives
more weight to cost than to an acceptable quality of care.
Sally Greengross, Commissioner for the Equality and
Human Rights Commission, said:
"Most of us will want to carry on living in our own homes in
later life, even if we need help to do so. When implemented, the
recommendations from this inquiry will provide secure foundations
for a home care system that will let us do so safely, with dignity
and independence.
This inquiry proposes some steps that would make sure human
rights are protected in future - including changes to the law so
that, at a minimum, all people getting publically funded home care
are protected by the Human Rights Act. Currently this is not the
case."
The results of the inquiry come at a time when the social care
sector is in desperate need of reform to meet the needs of the
growing number of people who require care.
Studies show that older people would prefer to stay at home
until it is impossible for them to do so rather than move into
residential care and the benefits of home care are enormous, both
to individuals and to the state.
When older people were asked what would improve their current
home care service, most of those who gave an opinion indicated that
they would like it to be more responsive to their needs and
wishes.
But having a personalised service does not have to mean a
personalised budget. The inquiry found that some older people
do not wish to use personal budgets and were not prepared to change
to direct payments, even if they were unhappy with the care they
were receiving. They voiced practical concerns about being
responsible for a direct payment including lack of support to
manage responsibilities, lack of information to make an informed
choice and increased risk of abuse or breaches of human rights.
CM2000's electronic monitoring system not only provides
safeguarding benefits but has been developed in line with market
changes to record outcomes, offer a managed accounts solution and
encourage transparency through tools like our Service User Portal.
As a quality tool the system alerts users to late or missed visits
and monitors some of the things that matter most to older people
like continuity of care.
For more information call us on 0121 308 3010.