New Alliance Criticises Government's Long Term Care Proposals (UK)

14 November, 2009

Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, a leading trade union representing care workers and a major charity tackling elder abuse, have joined forces to respond to the government's green paper consultation on the future of care.

The National Pensioners Convention (NPC), GMB and Action on Elder Abuse (AEA) have identified three key concerns surrounding the government's care proposals, which they say could jeopardise the safety of older people and damage the quality of the services they receive.

Their joint response to the green paper calls for:

1. A new National Care Service to be funded through general taxation rather than the use of one-off lump sum payments, private insurance or through the use of existing care or disability benefits.

The organisations believe that the proposed National Care Service can only be properly financed through a universal tax-funded system, and the government’s instant dismissal of this option is not evidence based, but politically driven. There is wider support for this amongst the public and other stakeholders than the government seems prepared to acknowledge.

2. A new National Care Service to be properly regulated with regard to registration, standards, monitoring and inspection of care providers and those employed in the care sector.

There should be new requirements for the registration of care providers so that 50% of staff in care homes and all new staff working in domiciliary care would be suitably qualified. The General Social Care Council should also be responsible for registering, inspecting and regulating paid care workers.

3. The use of individual budgets for older people to be reconsidered as they raise serious concerns about personal safety, the quality of care and unacceptable responsibility that will be placed on many vulnerable users.

Individual budgets purport to give individuals choice and control over their care, but for many older people they will be an unacceptable burden. Individual budgets also raise serious concerns about the safety and protection of vulnerable individuals who will be responsible for employing their own care workers, who at present are exempt from registration, regulation and inspection.

Abridged
SOURCE:     Private Health.Co., UK
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