Ageism Rife in Council-Funded Home Care Provision

A report has found that elderly people who are cared for in their own homes by council paid carers are often neglected to such an extent that they are left unwashed and hungry in their own homes, thus being denied their basic human rights.

Evidence of a "systematic failure" in home care for elderly people nationwide was brought to light in the report, which was based on the experiences of 1,200 older people and their friends and family, many of whom reported financial and physical abuse to their loved ones. It was found that carers often neglected important tasks due to being paid too little for their time. Indeed, councils were said to reduce carers' hours which is why they often cut corners, due to governmental cuts.

Carers also ignored their clients' basic human needs such as privacy when carrying out intimate tasks. There were concerns about cruelty in regard to treatment of older people. For example some carers would place food before elderly people who were deaf or blind but did not tell them it was there, so that they could not eat it.

There was also evidence of sporadic violence against elderly people. One conclusion reached by the report was that older people need a greater level of legal protection due to the cuts in services, as the Human Rights Act does not cover every situation.

Dot Gibson, General Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention said of the report's findings: "The social care system is in urgent need of reform from improving the pay, training and qualifications of staff to better regulation and monitoring of care providers," and that this situation of leaving older people unwashed and in need of food and drink is completely unacceptable.

Liz Kendall, Labour's Shadow Minister for care and older people said: "The government is cutting funding for older people's social care by £1.3bn in real terms [in] this parliament. These cuts are pushing the system to breaking point. Eight out of 10 councils are now only providing care for those with substantial and critical needs, and 15 minute home visits are all too often becoming the norm."

Paul Burstow the minister for care services said: "The EHCR's report exposes the good, bad and ugly sides of care in peoples own homes. This government won't tolerate poor care. I am determined to root out ageism and bad practice to drive up quality and dignity in care."

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