Panorama's 'Expose' of Domiciliary Care - No Surprise (UK)

Panorama's 'Expose' Of Domiciliary Care Should Come As No Surprise, UK

15 Apr 2009

 Action on Elder Abuse (AEA) has welcomed the Panorama programme 'Britain's Homecare scandal' as a timely reminder of what is commonly known by the sector, the regulators and by the Governments - both Westminster and Edinburgh. Domiciliary care is under-funded, and cannot easily deliver reliable quality care. While there are thousands of people working in the sector providing the best care they can, they are undermined by a system that has been failing for years. 

Gary FitzGerald, Chief Executive of AEA said, "It is time that the public woke up to the reality of what living at home means for many thousands of older people. A minimal service often run on a shoe-string, supported by carers who are invariably over-worked and under-paid, and provided by Agencies who are forced to operate with smaller and smaller budgets. While there may well be individual carers who must be held to account for their failings, the real culprits here are not those carers or indeed their employers, but a system whereby local authorities drive down costs at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our society. Government knows this. Regulators know this. And so do the service users and their relatives. It is totally unacceptable and has been happening for years. And it's time everyone else understood what is actually going on in their communities" 

. Action on Elder Abuse is a national charity which aims to protect, and prevent the abuse of, vulnerable older people. It does this by raising awareness of the issues, encouraging education and by giving information and support to those in need. It has the only national freephone helpline dedicated to this cause and callers may ring from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm on 080 8808 8141 from the UK or 1800 940 010 from the Republic of Ireland for confidential support and information. For further information on Action on Elder Abuse go to website:http://www.elderabuse.org.uk 

Abridged

SOURCE:    Action on Elder Abuse UK

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