The government must not force me and other disabled people out of our homes | Tessa Bolt

I have Down’s syndrome and I live in supported housing. Today a parliamentary select committee has put out a report on the government’s planned changes for supported housing that could force people such as me with a learning disability out of our homes.

Last year the government said it wanted to make changes to funding for supported housing that would limit payments to the local housing allowance rate and let local councils have control over the extra money needed to give people supported housing. This would mean people such as me could lose our right to have our housing paid for and that there could be a lot less supported housing available.

Both these changes would obviously be really bad. Thankfully today’s report agrees, which is good to hear as it is what me and other people in supported housing have been saying for a long time. But I’m still very scared the changes could happen.

In March I gave evidence for this report. It was a historic event as I was the first person with Down’s syndrome ever to give evidence to a select committee. I was very proud to be taking such a big step for people with a learning disability, especially as I know these changes could mean that thousands of people like me lose their homes and independence. As a society, we’d be going backwards.

Before supported housing, people with a learning disability had to live with their families or live in institutions. Most care professionals think institutions are not the best place for people with a learning disability; in some cases people end up having to live far away from everyone they know, and sometimes too, without proper support, people can even be in danger of abuse and neglect. I don’t think that’s a life anyone would choose.

I moved into supported housing when I was 30. Before then I had lived with my parents. I love them but I wanted to be independent. Nobody wants to still be living with their parents at 30! After a lot of talking, my parents agreed and I now live in a house run by Golden Lane Housing, with Elizabeth and Katie, two other ladies who have a learning disability. I love living with them – we’re like family.

I couldn’t live on my own without support, but I don’t want full-time care, because I’m not a child. Supported housing means I can be independent but have day-to-day support from Mencap. My support worker Jeanette helps me get out and do the things I love, which include volunteering at Oxfam, my local bookshop and the Cancer Trust. I make my own choices and I get to live the life I want, something everyone has the right to do.

But this will all change if the government’s planned changes happen. A cut could mean that I couldn’t afford to pay my rent any more. I wouldn’t be able to live with Katie and Elizabeth and I might lose my day-to-day support. It makes me scared for my future because I’d have to move away from my home, my friends and my voluntary jobs and go and live with family. It could change my whole life in a way that I don’t want.

But I’m lucky. A lot of people with a learning disability don’t have family who can support them, so they could be forced to live in an institution, where the support and accommodation might not be right for them. They could away from everything they know and they would lose all their independence. This would be a huge step back for everyone with a learning disability.

I make my own choices and I get to live the life I want, something everyone has the right to do

It is a scary thought and I think it’s clear the government isn’t thinking about all the people who use supported housing. So I’m glad that the select committee report has said that these changes could lead to a really bad situation. This is also what a lot of supported housing providers and Mencap have said and it’s what I think as well. But I don’t know if the government will listen to this new report.

I think things would be very different if people such as me had more of a voice, more power. I don’t think changes like this would be happening. That’s why it’s important that the government listens to us.

I would say to the government: “Stop and think about what you are doing!” It’s good to save money; I am not against changes. But things have to be fair for everyone, and until you can guarantee that changes won’t take away people’s homes, independence and happiness, then these are changes that the government can’t afford to make.

The government must not force me and other disabled people out of our homes | Tessa Bolt

Thousands of vulnerable people held unlawfully in care homes – report

Tens of thousands of vulnerable people with dementia and learning disabilities are being detained unlawfully in hospitals and care homes across Britain, the Law Commission has said.

Replacing the “administrative and bureaucratic nightmare” system of deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) would speed up checks and allow care workers to concentrate on those most at risk, the legal study recommends.

The report, laid before parliament on Monday, is an attempt to relieve pressure on the overburdened care system, which has been put under strain by the UK’s growing elderly population and a recent human rights court victory.

Individuals who lack sufficient mental capacity are subject to movement controls, usually for their own safety, which prevent them wandering off and getting into danger.

In 2014, a supreme court judgment dramatically expanded the definition of those who should be subject to DoLS checks beyond hospitals to care homes and other types of accommodation.

As a result, while there were 13,700 applications for deprivation of liberty in England in 2013-14 by 2015-16 that figure had risen to 195,840. The massive increase meant overburdened local authorities were unable to carry out checks within the period required or even at all.

The Law Commission, an independent body, was approached by the Department of Health to find a legal alternative. Its report cautions: “Local authorities are, in most cases, currently not issuing standard authorisations within anything like that timeframe, leaving people unlawfully deprived of their liberty and care homes exposed to civil liability.” A similar problem was found to exist in hospitals.

The DoLS system, if it worked, should enable patients and families to challenge any deprivation of freedom they believe is unjustified or excessively restrictive.

The commission proposes replacing DoLS with a liberty protection safeguards scheme. A draft bill implementing the legal changes is included in the report. It would allow previous assessments made in care plans to be relied on rather than requiring six sets of fresh assessments for each patient.

The report argues this would give “greater prominence” to individuals’ human rights at the initial stage at which care arrangements are being devised and reduce the number of costly applications to the court of Protection, which handles cases involving those deemed not to have mental capacity.

The liberty protection Safeguards scheme would cost about £236m a year, saving about £10m on current costs. The commission estimates, however, that if the DoLS system was working properly and every referral completed within time it would cost up to £2.2bn annually.

The commission found that in some cases vulnerable people were being deprived of liberty in their family home, although local authorities rarely have the capacity to carry out checks. In one case, door keys had been put into a safe and alarms rigged by the family to alert them if an elderly parent wandered out of the house.

Nicholas Paines QC, a law commissioner involved in drawing up the report, said: “It’s not right that people with dementia and learning disabilities are being denied their freedoms unlawfully. There are unnecessary costs and backlogs at every turn, and all too often family members are left without the support they need.

“The deprivation of liberty safeguards were designed at a time when considerably fewer people were considered deprived of their liberty. Now they are failing those they were set up to protect. The current system needs to be scrapped and replaced right away.

“We know there are enormous pressures on health and adult social care at the moment and our reforms will not only mean that everyone is given the protections they need, but could also deliver a saving to the taxpayer. That’s cash that can then be directly reinvested to support those most in need.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “This government is committed to protecting the rights of vulnerable people, that’s why we commissioned this review. We also gave local authorities £25m to help them manage pressures following the 2014 supreme court judgment.

“We thank the Law Commission for its detailed work and will be responding to these constructive recommendations in due course.”

Thousands of vulnerable people held unlawfully in care homes – report

Watchdog puts "unsafe" Cornwall care homes in special measures

Elderly people have been living in “grim, shoddy and unsafe” conditions in four care homes run by a private company in Cornwall, the health and social care watchdog has found.

Residents of the Morleigh Group homes lay in urine-soaked bedclothes, sat in chairs for hours with plates of unfinished food in front of them and waited weeks to receive medical attention, the Care Quality Commission said.

Publishing reports on the four homes on Friday, the CQC said all the homes had been rated inadequate and placed into special measures after separate inspections.

Andrea Sutcliffe, the chief inspector of adult social care, said:“These reports make horrifying reading – people in distress being ignored by staff; a person lying in a urine-soaked bed for two hours; people sat in the same chair all day with uneaten meals in front of them, and no help to eat or drink; someone needing medical attention waiting weeks to be referred to their GP.

“These and so many other examples show why we have rated each of these homes as inadequate and are taking further action to protect the safety and welfare of the people living there.”

Clinton House nursing home, in St Austell, closed earlier this month after an undercover investigation by BBC’s Panorama.

The CQC reports concluded:

• At Clinton House, there were not always enough staff on duty. Inspectors noticed one person in distress and crying for 90 minutes while staff walked by three times without speaking to the person to find out if they needed anything or to comfort them. The management of medicines was not robust. One person had not been given one of their prescribed medicines for three days. Inspectors had to intervene when one person – who had previously been assessed as being at risk of falls – was left unattended and nearly fell out of their wheelchair.


• At Elmsleigh care home, in Par, inspectors found one person who suffered from incontinence and was at risk of pressure sores, but was not routinely turned or checked by staff. Records showed that for several days the person often received no personal care – exposing them to the risk of urine burns to their skin. People sitting in the same seat all day, with their meals left in front of them uneaten, even though most needed encouragement to eat. Some appeared not to realise it was mealtime. Some people had sustained substantial weight loss but it was not clear what action had been taken to help them maintain a healthy weight.


• At Collamere nursing home, in Lostwithiel, inspectors witnessed people with dementia calling out repeatedly for some time with no response. One person shouted throughout the day and night. It was only after the inspection that their GP was asked to review their pain relief – and then they appeared to sleep without signs of distress.


• At St Theresa’s nursing home, in Callington, inspectors identified one person who had pressure sores, but had not been repositioned for eight hours. There had been a delay of five days in seeking appropriate specialist advice. Medicines were not being managed safely, the premises and equipment were not being maintained, and the collection of soiled laundry from bedrooms and cleaning procedures did not ensure suitable standards of cleanliness.

Sutcliffe added: “These services were providing grim, shoddy and unsafe care – the sort that no one should ever have to put up with. I am sorry that people have had to endure this poor level of care.”

The CQC said the Morleigh Group, which is family owned, had been supported by Cornwall council and the NHS Kernow clinical commissioning group to make improvements. But it said the company had failed to listen.

CQC inspectors visited Collamere on 10 October in response to concerns about the service. They visited Elmsleigh on 25 October to follow up on improvements required by a previous inspection. Planned inspections of Clinton House and St Theresa’s were brought forward following information received from Panorama.

The BBBC investigation included undercover filming showing one nurse threatening to give morphine to a resident “to shut her up”.

Panorama

Watchdog puts "unsafe" Cornwall care homes in special measures

Shocking neglect uncovered at two care homes in Cornwall

An undercover investigation has exposed shocking levels of neglect at two care homes in Cornwall.

Hidden camera footage filmed by BBC Panorama reporters recorded vulnerable people left unattended, including one left on a bed pan for 40 minutes, an out-of-date prescription supplement relabelled for use by another resident, and the threat of morphine being used to silence a resident.

One of the homes, Clinton House in St Austell, is closing down as a result of safety concerns and the other, St Theresa’s, in Callington near Plymouth, has been placed under investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Cornwall council.

Two other nursing homes with the same owners – Morleigh Group – as those featured in Monday’s edition of Panorama are also being investigated.

The four care homes under scrutiny had all previously been rated as “requires improvement” by the CQC, which said it had had “serious concerns with the Morleigh Group for some time”.

The reporter Janice Finch booked into St Theresa’s and Clinton House posing as a resident. She witnessed staff rushed off their feet, compromising the privacy and dignity of some fellow residents. She paid £750 a week for a room where the bin was not emptied, the soap dispenser had no soap and the toilet seat was broken.

Another reporter worked as a care assistant at Clinton House, doing 14 shifts without her references being taken up or a criminal records check being completed.

Secret footage showed a nurse announcing her intention to give morphine to a resident “to shut her up”.

It also showed an elderly resident with severe dementia in a bed with a loose safety rail. The undercover reporter, worried that the resident might hurt herself, was advised to hold the rail in place with her foot.

The resident had a wound on her leg, and staff did not know how she had come by it even though she was supposed to be receiving 24-hour one-to-one care.

Trevor Doughty, Cornwall council’s strategic director for children, families and adults, said: “The health, wellbeing and dignity of residents absolutely comes first; we are shocked and saddened at the incidents reported by Panorama, and are very sorry that this has happened in these privately run homes. On behalf of everybody who dedicates their careers to keeping people safe, and seeing them treated with dignity and respect, I am sorry for what has happened in these homes.”

Andrea Sutcliffe, chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, said the regulator had brought forward its inspections of Clinton House and St Theresa’s after Panorama had shared its concerns about the homes.

“We are taking tough action against the Morleigh Group to protect the people living in four of its nursing homes in Cornwall,” she said. “This follows a significant deterioration in the quality of care it has been providing as uncovered through our most recent inspections.”

The other two Morleigh Group homes under investigation are Elmsleigh in Par and Collamere in Lostwithiel.

Moreleigh Group said in a statement that investigations carried out prior to the receipt of information from Panorama had “resulted in the removal of the staff involved, together with a thorough review of our systems and procedures”.

Panorama: Nursing Homes Undercover will be broadcast on BBC1 on Monday 21 November at 8.30pm

Shocking neglect uncovered at two care homes in Cornwall

Obesity set to soar for boys, but not girls, from poorer homes

Childhood obesity is set to increase so sharply among boys from poorer homes in England that three in five of them will be dangerously overweight by 2020, research shows.

But the number of well-off boys who are overweight or obese is expected to fall to one in six in that time, underlining that obesity’s already stark class divide will widen even further.

Doctors and health campaigners urged ministers to take tough action to reduce the number of children and young people who are becoming very heavy, including restricting advertisements on television for junk food before the 9pm watershed and taxing unhealthy foodstuffs.

At the moment, 16% of boys in England aged between five and 11 from the most deprived backgrounds are overweight and another 34% are obese, with only 51% a normal weight. But on current trends those figures will rise to 17% (overweight) and 43% (obese) by 2020, leaving only a minority – two out of five (40%) – who have a healthy body mass index.

In contrast, the proportion of boys that age from the wealthiest backgrounds who are overweight is likely to fall from 12% in 2016 to 10% in 2020 and those who are obese by a third from 9% to 6%, with the percentage who are a normal weight rising from 79% to 83%

“These shocking figures are yet another wake-up call to the devastating impact that obesity is having on our children, with certain sections of society being harder hit than others, just as we have seen with smoking,” said Sarah Toule, head of health information at the World Cancer Research Fund.

“Widening of inequalities appals me – it’s a waste of human resources. When a child is born into poverty they miss out. They miss out on school trips, nutritional meals and warm, dry clothes and homes. They are also more likely to suffer poorer health as a result and become overweight or obese or develop mental health issues,” said Prof Russell Viner, officer for health promotion at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

“The figures further highlight the impact – specifically on boys – poverty has on a child’s health and wellbeing. Inequality tells us we can do something about it. We need a country for everyone, not just an environment for the rich.”

But levels of obesity are set to remain about the same among girls irrespective of their background – at about one in five of those aged five to 11, according to the research by the UK Health Forum for the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of medical groups and health charities.

Projections based on trends seen in the Health Survey for England undertaken between 2008 and 2012 show that obesity and overweight in girls from the least deprived families are set to fall slightly from 23% now to 22% in 2020, while among poorer girls from 24% to 21%

Robin Ireland, chief executive of the Health Equalities Group, said while it was hard to explain the gender gap, “there could be a number of reasons – including girls usually being more conscious about their physical appearance, and boys being more brand loyal and therefore susceptible to the billions of pounds spent on marketing to children through brand characters and sports stars.

“From a young age, children are developing a taste for high sugar, salt and fatty foods that is difficult to break once established and, as a nation, we all have a responsibility to help shape children’s diets.”

Public Health England, which advises the government, said it was “deeply worrying” that children faced such wildly different chances of becoming obese simply because they lived in deprived areas. Its drive to reduce sugar and calories in foodstuffs by 20% by 2020 as part of the government’s childhood obesity strategy would help, said Dr Alison Tedstone, its chief nutritionist.

Obesity set to soar for boys, but not girls, from poorer homes

Hospitals and care homes fail food safety inspections

More than 500 care providers in the UK, including 19 hospitals and other NHS facilities, have failed hygiene and food safety inspections, Guardian analysis reveals.

Food Standards Agency (FSA) data shows that care homes fail to meet food hygiene standards more than any other type of care provider, with more than 200 residential, nursing and care homes receiving low grades at their latest food safety inspections.

This was closely followed by nurseries, childcare centres, playgroups and out-of-school care providers, more than 200 of which failed to meet hygiene standards, as well as a handful of hospices, homeless shelters, churches and youth centres.

The FSA ranks all food providers, giving them a score of zero to five. Zero means the establishment “urgently requires improvement”, one or two is considered a failing grade, and three to five is satisfactory.

An overwhelming majority (more than 98%) of hospitals and other care providers achieve a food hygiene rating of three or better. Despite this overall success, Michael Harding, a food hygiene rating scheme support officer at the FSA, said any instance of a care organisation receiving a low score was “a cause for concern”, due to the fact that vulnerable people, including children, older people and people who are ill, were more likely to use their services.

“The food safety officer will be taking the necessary action to ensure that the issues identified at caring premises with a lower rating are addressed and that vulnerable people are not put at risk,” he said.

Eight care providers still in operation scored zero, including six residential care homes, one nursery and one after-school care facility, which has since stopped preparing food for children.

A ninth, Fairy Tales day nursery in Glen Parva, Leicestershire, received a score of zero in May after inspectors found a mouse infestation. The nursery closed and has since reopened under new management. The new business is yet to be inspected, but a spokesman from Blaby district council, which conducts inspections in the area, said Ofsted visited the site in mid-August and confirmed that it was clean and tidy with no evidence of mice.

The Stay and Play after-school care service at Millbrook primary school in Newport, south Wales, scored a zero rating in June after it provided high-risk food, such as ham and salad wraps, despite not having the facilities to safely prepare them, Newport city council’s environmental health team said. The centre has since stopped serving food that requires preparation and gives children cereal or biscuits instead.

Several care homes were given zero ratings for issues including mouldy and expired food found in fridges, evidence of cross-contamination between raw and cooked food, lack of hand-washing facilities, poor cooking equipment and no food safety management documentation.

Businesses awarded a zero rating are either immediately shut down or given 28 days to tackle urgent issues, with visits to check that work has been carried out. They can then either pay £160 to be rescored or wait until their next scheduled assessment, usually about six months later, to potentially be given a new score.

Nineteen hospitals nationwide received scores of between zero and two, or “improvement required” in the case of Scotland, which uses a different grading system.

Hand washing is an important factor in effective hygiene and limiting the transfer of harmful bacteria. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

According to the FSA, the hospital inspections look at meals served in canteens as well as those served to patients, but do not cover independent retailers based at hospitals, which are inspected separately.

In almost all cases, spokespeople for the low-scoring hospitals and the councils that inspected them said the hospital administrations had taken steps to improve food safety.

Eight hospitals in Scotland received the grade of “improvement required”, in some cases because of repeated minor contraventions, such as chipped plaster on kitchen walls, water damage on floor coverings and the lack of a thermometer to monitor fridge temperatures.

One of these hospitals, Albyn hospital in Aberdeen, a 30-bed private hospital run by BMI Healthcare, received a rating of “improvement required” in May, with the food safety inspector citing issues with cleanliness, temperature control and paperwork. The inspector also mentioned concerns with cross-contamination from the storage of raw and cooked foods together, use of the same aprons by staff throughout the day and in particular the use of the same machine to vacuum-pack raw food, such as sausages, and cooked food, such as chicken and smoked salmon.

“I am extremely concerned that … the vacuum packer was being used for ready-to-eat foods,” the inspector wrote in their report. “Your customers are patients of the hospital and as such have heightened vulnerability and may be immunocompromised [have a weakened immune system].”

Stuart Storrie, the interim executive director of BMI Healthcare, said that since the inspection the company had worked with suppliers and staff to “correct every single one of the problems cited in the report” and he was confident they had addressed all issues raised.

Two hospitals in Birmingham received failing grades at their inspections in March. The Royal Orthopaedic and West Heath hospitals were awarded scores of two and one respectively.

The catering company that prepares food for two units at Kingsley Green’s NHS site in Shenley, Hertfordshire – Oak unit, a 10-bed psychiatric intensive care facility, and Beech unit, a 15-bed rehabilitation ward – received a score of one in December 2015. Another inspection of the wards was imminent, St Albans city and district council said.

An NHS eating disorder unit in Stockton-on-Tees was given a score of one in March 2015. The facility runs shopping and cooking workshops with clients, and an inspection found that during these activities, there were problems with food hygiene, such as hand washing and not wearing aprons.

A spokesperson for the NHS trust said that since the inspection, it had had further talks with inspectors and put in place “robust actions” to improve food safety.

Hospitals and care homes fail food safety inspections

Elderly should sell homes to fund care, says aide to Theresa May

Theresa May’s policy chief has suggested that people with valuable homes who face high social care costs in old age should downsize or re-mortgage to cover their bills, the Observer can reveal.

Director of policy John Godfrey has suggested that over the next 10 years the solution to the social care crisis lies in people selling up or releasing some of the equity in their property.

“On a 10-year view … equity release is going to be hugely important, because if you look at the amount of housing equity across the UK that is owned by people of post-retirement age, that is really where an awful lot of the money sits at the moment,” Godfrey told an independent commission last year. “Can people either downshift or liberate some of that money through equity release to fund their living costs?”

One in 10 people end up paying more than £100,000 in care costs in old age, research has shown. Equity release involves borrowing against the value of a home or selling all or part of it for a lump sum or a monthly income. Godfrey, who was a special adviser to Douglas Hurd in Margaret Thatcher’s administration, added that he believed the government should encourage people to sell their homes to release cash through the building of suitable retirement homes.

“As far as downshifting is concerned, you move into another area of policy altogether, which is the need to build more housing to give people a choice of the right sort of home.”

Godfrey had been working for insurer Legal & General as corporate affairs director for eight years before his appointment in mid-July. His comments will be controversial, given that they involve the politically toxic suggestion that people should spend their children’s inheritance – in the form of the family home – to cover the costs of social care. In 2013, then health secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was a scandal that every year “30,000 to 40,000 people are having to sell their houses to pay for care costs”.

Last July the government announced it would delay the so-called Dilnot reforms, which included the introduction of a cap intended to limit the liability of those self-funding their social care at £72,000. It was hoped that insurance products would emerge to allow people to cover those costs.

The proposed reforms, at a cost of £6m over five years, also provided for a more generous means test that would have allowed more people to qualify for local authority financial support.

John Godfrey, Theresa May’s director of policy.

Elderly should sell homes to fund care, says aide to Theresa May

English care homes dealing with monetary ruin, say councils

Care homes in England are are “teetering on the edge of financial meltdown”, in accordance to county councils, even prior to the government hits them with an estimated £1bn bill for additional wages when the chancellor’s “national living wage” kicks in.

The greatest homes will more and more grow to be a preserve of the wealthy asprivate firms reduce the number of areas funded by local authorities, the councils have warned the overall health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

Better-off people who do not qualify for regional authority assistance are already paying over the true level of care to assist care houses stability their books, according to a letter from the County Councils Network (CCN) to Hunt noticed by the Guardian.

Connected: Nationwide residing wage threatens United kingdom care sector, George Osborne informed

Local authorities and the businesses that run the properties say people institutions that can’t attract a lot more folks who shell out their very own charges could go out of enterprise.

The letter to Hunt was launched to the Guardian as the greatest suppliers taking council-supported residents – Four Seasons Health Care, Bupa United kingdom, HC-One particular, Care United kingdom, Barchester, and Care England, representing a range of companies – advised that the added affect of the nationwide living wage across the sector could reach yet another £1bn, because a lot more than 60% of the charges of care had been taken up by workers costs.

Beneath the move in the spending budget final month, employees aged over 25 will be paid a minimal of £7.twenty an hour from April following yr, increasing to £9 by 2020.

About 400,000 older people are in care residences in England. But the companies say a crisis in the care sector would put extra costs on the NHS far past those incurred via flu outbreaks or winter pressures on hospitals.

Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, stated the sector welcomed the national living wage, but added: “It is not sustainable for us to meet the improved value of care when nearby authorities are already paying effectively beneath the true price of care.”

County councils say they are presently £630m short of paying out the accurate value of care this 12 months, and other fiscal pressures indicate they are virtually £1bn brief overall. A additional £1bn in added expenses could hit all nearby authorities by the finish of the decade as the expenses of paying the new nationwide living wage.

They have named on the government to invest the whole £6bn saved by a 4-12 months delay in a social care shakeup from subsequent year to 2020 on “stabilising” the immediate crisis as an alternative.

Citing analysis by monetary analysts LaingBuisson, the CCNis warning Hunt that care properties “are teetering on the edge of economic meltdown and collapse”.

Individuals who spend their very own care house fees are “cross-subsidising” the fees of care as a direct end result of the underfunding of county social care companies at a time of unrelenting demand, the letter says.

The councils also warn that care residences supported by regional authorities would quickly only have accessibility to a “lower high quality segment of the market”.

County authorities say they are dealing with difficulties earlier than individuals in cities since a far increased proportion of their populations are more than 65 – 1-fifth – compared with one particular-seventh in the cities.

David Roe, a consultant for LaingBuisson, advised the Guardian that the financial position was serious even just before far more current concerns in excess of the costs of paying workers the nationwide residing wage.

Polarisation was previously rising, he explained. “The huge danger is that this is going to get a lot worse. Suppliers are going to stay away from putting men and women from local authorities so there will be fewer areas (for this kind of folks) and the areas there will be a lot more high-priced.”

Unison, which represents care employees, stated government cuts had “starved” neighborhood councils and the NHS of income. The union’s general secretary, Dave Prentis, explained: “Ministers should make enough cash offered so that all homecare and care residence suppliers can afford to give their workers the minimum wage enhance next April, with no cutting jobs.

“Losing more care employees could lead to tragic consequences and could include additional stress on an previously overstretched NHS. Some 200,000 care workers really don’t at the moment earn £6.50 an hour – the current minimum wage fee – as they don’t get paid for the time they invest travelling amongst support users. Ministers need to consider urgent action to ensure all care companies comply with the law.”

The charity Leonard Cheshire Disability also warned of declining standards “and in some locations declining safety”.

Its chief executive, Claire Pelham, mentioned:”This is not just a challenge for councils and care companies. It is specially challenging for the a lot more than 70,000 disabled individuals right using their personal care staff on quite tight budgets, who will have to meet the expense of two pay rises for their staff in much less than 6 months.”

Pelham extra: “For numerous disabled folks this will mean they shell out far more for significantly less care – limiting their independence, and in some instances risking their safety.”

The Division of Well being stated the nationwide living wage would advantage hundreds of thousands of care staff. “The general fees of offering social care will be deemed as part of the investing overview later this yr and we are operating with the care sector to realize how the modifications will impact them,” it said.

The £6bn referred to by the councils is funds probably freed up by the government’s decision to defer a cap on lifetime care expenses set at £72,000 for folks above pension age. This was due to be launched up coming April but now will not take result until finally 2020.

A rise in the sum of assets at which individuals would be eligible for state aid with residential care fees, irrespective of the cap, from £23,250 to £118,000, has also been delayed.

The Conservative manifesto prior to the election had promised these would be introduced up coming spring and had been partly made to stop older men and women getting to sell their homes to shell out for care.

English care homes dealing with monetary ruin, say councils

English care homes dealing with monetary ruin, say councils

Care houses in England are are “teetering on the edge of financial meltdown”, in accordance to county councils, even just before the government hits them with an estimated £1bn bill for extra wages when the chancellor’s “national living wage” kicks in.

The ideal homes will increasingly become a protect of the wealthy asprivate companies minimize the amount of areas funded by neighborhood authorities, the councils have warned the well being secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

Better-off men and women who do not qualify for local authority assistance are previously having to pay above the accurate level of care to assist care houses balance their books, according to a letter from the County Councils Network (CCN) to Hunt observed by the Guardian.

Relevant: Nationwide living wage threatens Uk care sector, George Osborne informed

Regional authorities and the companies that run the properties say people institutions that are not able to attract much more people who pay their personal expenses could go out of business.

The letter to Hunt was launched to the Guardian as the biggest suppliers taking council-supported residents – Four Seasons Wellness Care, Bupa United kingdom, HC-One particular, Care Uk, Barchester, and Care England, representing a range of providers – recommended that the added effect of the nationwide residing wage across the sector could reach one more £1bn, considering that more than 60% of the costs of care have been taken up by workers charges.

Under the move in the price range last month, workers aged in excess of 25 will be paid a minimal of £7.twenty an hour from April next 12 months, growing to £9 by 2020.

About 400,000 older individuals are in care houses in England. But the firms say a crisis in the care sector would put further fees on the NHS far past those incurred through flu outbreaks or winter pressures on hospitals.

Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, mentioned the sector welcomed the nationwide residing wage, but extra: “It is not sustainable for us to meet the increased value of care when nearby authorities are presently paying effectively under the correct expense of care.”

County councils say they are presently £630m quick of paying out the correct cost of care this year, and other fiscal pressures mean they are almost £1bn short general. A additional £1bn in added charges could hit all local authorities by the end of the decade as the charges of paying the new nationwide residing wage.

They have known as on the government to devote the complete £6bn saved by a 4-year delay in a social care shakeup from following 12 months to 2020 on “stabilising” the quick crisis rather.

Citing analysis by monetary analysts LaingBuisson, the CCNis warning Hunt that care houses “are teetering on the edge of financial meltdown and collapse”.

People who pay their personal care house charges are “cross-subsidising” the charges of care as a direct result of the underfunding of county social care services at a time of unrelenting demand, the letter says.

The councils also warn that care homes supported by neighborhood authorities would soon only have access to a “lower quality section of the market”.

County authorities say they are dealing with troubles earlier than those in cities because a far higher proportion of their populations are more than 65 – one-fifth – in contrast with one particular-seventh in the cities.

David Roe, a advisor for LaingBuisson, informed the Guardian that the monetary position was serious even prior to much more recent concerns in excess of the fees of paying out workers the national living wage.

Polarisation was presently growing, he explained. “The large danger is that this is going to get a great deal worse. Providers are going to stay away from putting folks from regional authorities so there will be fewer places (for such men and women) and the places there will be more high-priced.”

Unison, which represents care personnel, mentioned government cuts had “starved” local councils and the NHS of cash. The union’s basic secretary, Dave Prentis, said: “Ministers need to make sufficient money offered so that all homecare and care home suppliers can afford to give their personnel the minimum wage enhance following April, with out cutting jobs.

“Losing a lot more care workers could lead to tragic consequences and could add extra pressure on an presently overstretched NHS. Some 200,000 care employees don’t currently earn £6.50 an hour – the recent minimal wage price – as they do not get paid for the time they spend travelling among services consumers. Ministers must take urgent action to guarantee all care providers comply with the law.”

The charity Leonard Cheshire Disability also warned of declining specifications “and in some areas declining safety”.

Its chief executive, Claire Pelham, stated:”This is not just a challenge for councils and care providers. It is particularly demanding for the much more than 70,000 disabled individuals straight employing their own care staff on very tight budgets, who will have to meet the price of two shell out rises for their staff in significantly less than 6 months.”

Pelham additional: “For several disabled men and women this will imply they spend more for significantly less care – limiting their independence, and in some cases risking their security.”

The Department of Well being stated the national residing wage would benefit hundreds of 1000′s of care workers. “The general expenses of offering social care will be considered as component of the investing evaluation later this yr and we are doing work with the care sector to recognize how the adjustments will impact them,” it said.

The £6bn referred to by the councils is cash probably freed up by the government’s determination to defer a cap on lifetime care fees set at £72,000 for individuals above pension age. This was due to be introduced next April but now will not take impact till 2020.

A rise in the sum of assets at which folks would be eligible for state assist with residential care costs, irrespective of the cap, from £23,250 to £118,000, has also been delayed.

The Conservative manifesto prior to the election had promised these would be launched subsequent spring and had been partly made to prevent older people getting to promote their homes to pay out for care.

English care homes dealing with monetary ruin, say councils

Hunt: Also many care homes not very good adequate for my loved ones

The new regime means from October all 25,000 care properties and care home companies in England will be inspected, and offered an Ofsted-fashion rating, ranging from excellent to inadequate.

From April, the worst care houses will put on “special measures” meaning they could be forced out of organization if they fail to satisfy CQC inspectors.

Mr Hunt told the Commons on Wednesday that the actions followed from “a moral duty” to shield the most vulnerable.

He mentioned his family’s experience of care residences had been “mixed” and said he had been unhappy about some of the care meted out to his family members.

“There are nevertheless far too many care properties that I wouldn’t be satisfied to see my own mothers and fathers or grandparents in,” he stated.

“The public have been genuinely shocked by stories of abuse and neglect we want to give the public self-confidence that in which these factors occur they will be spotted rapidly and acted on.”

Andrea Sutcliffe, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, explained terrible failings were found each and every week in care homes across the country.

She warned: “Week in and week out men and women tell me and my crew, and inspectors discover some truly awful care which need to not be occurring. At times it’s abuse older individuals treated roughly worrying bruises that have no explanation.”

“Sometimes it is neglect – individuals residing with dementia not supported to consume and drink so they end up with malnutrition or daily life-threatening dehydration.

“Sometimes it is a shocking lack of respect for people’s dignity – dressed in a person else’s clothing that do not match, males not having a regular shave due to the fact workers are also hectic, no a single taking the time to discover out what tends to make you happy or just talk to you,” she added.

Ms Sutcliffe explained the appalling care meant too numerous vulnerable folks have been forced to endure “a thoroughly miserable and scary experience”.

She explained households had been left wracked with remorse when they found out how their loved ones had been handled.

“The worst element of the letters I read occasionally is the distress and the guilt that families come to feel it can be genuinely heartbreaking: people illustration of failing care just reinforce my determination to make sure that we call time on bad care,” she explained.

CQC explained current assessments of care homes had previously recognized scores of care homes in which issues stay, despite repeated investigations.

Ms Sutcliffe said: “What I asked the staff to pull out for me is what is the quantity of solutions that we have been into over 3 occasions over the last year, because that would give me some indication that they are the ones that we continue to have a substantial degree of concern about – and it is just significantly less than a hundred.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s an absolute specific number, but it just offers you an indication of the places the place we have continued to have issues and gone back, in which I consider will almost certainly be focussing our efforts in long term.”

Final yr Mr Hunt explained British families should find out from Asia, by taking in elderly family members as soon as they can no longer reside alone.

The overall health secretary, whose wife is Chinese, mentioned he was struck by the “reverence and respect” for older folks in Asian cultures, where it is expected that older grandparents will go to dwell with their children and grandchildren rather than enter a care house.

In the speech last October he said: “In these countries, when living alone is no longer attainable, residential care is a final rather than a first selection. And the social contract is stronger simply because as kids see how their very own grandparents are looked soon after, they produce higher expectations of how they as well will be handled when they get outdated.”

Hunt: Also many care homes not very good adequate for my loved ones

Private care homes: Only cameras in rooms will end patient abuse

criteria this kind of as how medicines are stored, infection-manage procedures, policies on how complaints are dealt with, how up-to-date care strategies are and the number of sharps bins in clinical places.

An inspection is basically an in-depth audit of the bureaucracy in a care home how effectively it is jumping by means of the right hoops. It can’t truly consider into account the compassion of workers, their attitudes in the direction of these they care for or their comprehending of how critical their work is. While the commission does try to assess these regions, it is extremely tough — if not not possible — to get a genuinely precise picture of what is going on.

Not like Ofsted inspections, whereby teachers are observed carrying out their task more than a protracted time period, the assessments get only a extremely short snapshot of the real care delivered. Inspectors might witness a mealtime, for instance, but not what happens when residents are place to bed. They will talk to some of the residents, but what about people who cannot talk and but are the most vulnerable to abuse?

The set-up also ignores the truth that a lot of patients are so dependent on the staff that they are scared to communicate out for dread of retribution.

Many many years in the past, although a health care student, I worked in a nursing house for men and women with dementia, and witnessed very first-hand appalling abuse by workers in direction of patients. The residents have been profoundly impaired and for that reason unable to articulate what was occurring to them. Sufferers were locked in the bathroom, tied to chairs and commodes, knowingly left lying in their own excrement. Personnel employed some of the most offensive language I have ever heard in the direction of sufferers.

But when an inspection of the home by social solutions took area, none of this was uncovered. I reported the property and many members of personnel had been duly sacked — but only right after an additional member of personnel came forward and corroborated what I had witnessed.

The very same limitations of what an inspection can actually measure, and how, remain. I really don’t really blame the CQC for this. It is in an unenviable place, whereby the public appear to it to give reassurance on the quality of care delivered, but this is a close to-impossible task. As an alternative, it has to look at relatively meaningless measurables and then gets blamed when it is located to have missed abuse. We are basically asking also significantly from a single organisation.

It’s a sorry state of affairs when we have to put CCTV cameras in the rooms of all vulnerable folks getting cared for, but I can’t feel of an additional way of clamping down on abuse and neglect as soon as and for all.

———————–

THE STAFFING CRISIS LOOMING Over Medicine

For the first time ever, there are now more female GPs than male. In addition, the proportion of girls medical professionals is set to enhance, with some medical colleges now getting 80 per cent females.

I’m delighted that the male dominance of medicine has ultimately come to an finish. But what does this suggest for the landscape of well being care in the potential? And have items gone too far the other way?

The dilemma, put starkly, is that the common male health care graduate will perform total-time, while the regular female will not. This implies that the state will get a lot more guy hrs out of a male graduate than a female graduate throughout their profession. As more and more ladies enter the occupation, we must be seeing a corresponding increase in the amount of locations at health care school to account for this, but we aren’t. We are as a result dealing with a crisis in the medical workforce. There are also significant issues about potential recruitment to the much less “family-friendly” specialties, this kind of as A&ampE.

No one likes saying this for concern of getting branded sexist. But it is not sexist to level out that we’re heading for a worrying shortage of doctors — but no  one appears to be undertaking anything at all about it.

———————–

WHY I’m Nevertheless CONSCIOUSLY COUPLING WITH Natural

_{Organic fan Ms Paltrow, separating from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin (Robyn Beck)}

While I really don’t usually see eye-to-eye with Gwyneth Paltrow more than nutrition, I do agree that natural fruit and vegetables are best. But a study published in the British Journal of Cancer has advised that consuming pesticide-free of charge food does not seem to decrease charges of cancer. The results have been pounced on as proof that natural make was a waste of income. I really don’t agree.

Cancer Research United kingdom recommended that if men and women are concerned about pesticide residue on foods, they must simply wash it before eating it. This ignores the reality that numerous pesticides are absorbed by the food, and without a doubt that processed food items, such as bread, can not be washed.

Also, when I buy organic, I’m not pondering of cancer, but of pesticides’ effect on the atmosphere and about consuming unknown chemical substances.

As I’m sure Gwyneth will agree, there are worse issues you could devote your cash on. Such as a Coldplay album.

To purchase a copy of Max Pemberton’s guide ‘The Physician Will See You Now’ (Hodder), call Telegraph Books on 0844 871 1515

Private care homes: Only cameras in rooms will end patient abuse

Vulnerable people "being stored prisoner in care homes"

Tens of thousands of the most vulnerable sufferers are successfully getting kept prisoner in care homes and hospitals by way of misuse of mental wellness laws, a damning House of Lords investigation has located.

In the worst instances, safeguards aimed at safeguarding individuals with a variety of situations are currently being used to oppress people and force choices on them, peers mentioned.

They located measures supposed to be utilized to search following at-chance patients – such as people with dementia who may possibly get lost if they left their care residence – had been currently being employed on a significant scale to deprive them wrongly of their liberty.

The Home of Lords committee set up to investigate how mental well being reforms launched in 2005 are doing work mentioned it was so concerned about deprivation of liberty safeguards that they should be scrapped and a new program drawn up from scratch.

The committee chairman, Lord Hardie, mentioned: “We have been really concerned by what we heard about the safeguards. The proof suggests that tens of 1000′s of people are becoming deprived of their liberty with out the protection of the law, and without the protection that parliament intended.

“Worse nevertheless, in some situations the safeguards are getting wilfully used to oppress men and women and to force decisions on them, irrespective of what actions may possibly be in their best interests.

“The criticism of the safeguards extended to the legislative provisions themselves we have been informed the provisions were poorly drafted, overly complex and bureaucratic. A senior judge described the encounter of making an attempt to create a judgment on the safeguards as feeling ‘as if you have been in a washing machine and spin dryer’. Even if implementation could be enhanced, the legislation itself is flawed.

“In the face of such criticism, the only selection is to start again. The government needs to go back to the drawing board to draft substitute provisions that are simple to comprehend and put into action, and in keeping with the design and ethos of the Psychological Capability Act.”

The report highlights the case of Steven Neary, a guy in his early 20s with autism and a serious learning disability, whose father asked Hillingdon council to supply some short-term respite care.

It explained employees had identified Neary’s behaviour really challenging and were concerned about his return residence, so it was agreed that he would keep in care for a couple of weeks.

The report adds: “In reality, the council had previously made the decision that Neary must not be permitted to return property and stored him at the facility for practically a 12 months, like a period when he was topic to the deprivation of liberty safeguards.

In the course of this time strategies had been produced to send Neary to live permanently at a facility in Wales. The court of protection held that Neary had been unlawfully detained and ordered that he have to return house to live with his father.”

The safeguards are portion of the wider Mental Capability Act, drawn up to simplify how sufferers who lack capability are dealt with and to “empower, protect and support” them.

Peers discovered there had been patchy takeup of the measures it consists of and known as for the creation of a single independent organisation to get accountability for implementation.

Lord Hardie explained: “When the act came into currently being, it was witnessed as a visionary piece of legislation, which marked a turning level in the rights of vulnerable folks those with understanding issues, dementia, brain injuries or temporary impairment. The committee is unanimous that this is essential legislation, with the prospective to transform lives.

“Nevertheless, what is clear from the considerable volume of evidence we have obtained is that the act is not doing work at all well. That is simply because people do not know about the act, or do not comprehend it, even however several specialists have legal obligations underneath it. Those who could lack capability have legal rights underneath the act, but they are not currently being fulfilled. In numerous circumstances complying with the act is taken care of like an optional add-on – nice to have, but not important. In brief, the act is not currently being implemented.

“The committee believes that the act is excellent and it demands to be implemented. What we want to see is a change in attitudes and practice across the wellness and social care sector which reflects the empowering ethos of the act.”

Vulnerable people "being stored prisoner in care homes"

Paul Burstow: The Human Rights Act need to apply to all pensioners in care homes

So, for example, a individual living in a care house has no safety of tenure, and a resident can be evicted quite simply. It is properly acknowledged that the shock of getting forced to move out of a care home can contribute to someone’s death, and so the Human Rights Act is rightly a backstop in this kind of instances, but only if the Council organized the care.

Worse even now, if you are cared for in your own home by a personal or third sector company, even if the Council arranged it, human rights safety does not apply.

Final yr I was delighted when a cross celebration vote in the Property of Lords defeated the Government to amend the Care Bill to end this anomaly. But that Bill is not but law, and the Justice division is digging its heels in and now would like MPs to overturn that vote.

On ideological grounds the Justice Division would have MPs vote so that the Human Rights Act does not apply to older people who correct up their very own care. It believes that the Act ought to not apply to personal care arrangements.

But this is just not great adequate. How can it be acceptable that if men and women rob a bank and go to prison, then their dignity and care are covered by the Act – but not an elderly person with dementia living in a care home?

So as an alternative of making an attempt to unravel the alterations the Property of Lords manufactured, the Government should embrace it. Respect for a person’s human rights must be at the heart of very good care, it ought to be engrained in the culture of each organisation that supplies care, regardless of whether they are private, charity or publically run. Clarifying the law in this way would be a spur to every care supplier to develop a human rights method into the way they deliver care, assisting to drive up specifications across the entire social care sector.

The Care Bill will be a landmark reform of care in England, extensively welcomed by charities representing older and disabled folks. It is anything the Coalition can be proud of. I am as a result respectfully calling on the Justice Secretary to get rid of his ideological blinkers, and believe about the message he is sending out. I can only hope he reconsiders – for the sake of households and folks needing care everywhere.

Paul Burstow: The Human Rights Act need to apply to all pensioners in care homes