Councils still insisting on 15 minute homecare visits

Three quarters (74 per cent) of local authorities in England are still limiting homecare visits for their elderly, ill and disabled residents to just 15 minutes, says UNISON in a report. The report – entitled Suffering Alone at Home – is based on an online survey of 1,100 homecare workers and data obtained from a Freedom of Information request (FoI) to the 152 local authorities in England that commission social care visits. The UNISON survey findings mirror those of the FoI request to local councils. Three quarters (74 per cent) of homecare workers who responded felt they did not have enough time to provide dignified care for the elderly and disabled people they visited. Worryingly says UNISON, 61 per cent said visits of just a quarter of an hour meant they frequently had to rush the care of people who were over 90 years old. A similar report by UNISON in 2014 showed that the same proportion of councils (74 per cent) were regularly using 15 minute visits. Given the harsh financial climate in which local authorities are operating, UNISON says it is not surprised that there has been no change in the numbers, and fears the situation will only get worse. The 2015 survey findings show more than half the homecare workers (57 per cent) have been asked to provide personal care in 15 minutes or less with an elderly person they have never met before. The limited time allocated means the majority of workers (85 per cent) said they regularly didn’t even have time for a conve...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Press release homecare homecare workers Source Type: news