The general standard of care is getting better, according to the Care Quality Commission’s first report on adult social care in England. That is the good news. The bad news is the concern expressed about the low quality of some care, particularly for older people in a care home. Similar concerns are regularly reported to the Counsel and Care advice line.
Almost a quarter of homes for older people continue to provide care that is of a poor or only adequate standard and almost a fifth of care services remain poor or adequate, the report says.
We need to see tougher action by the commission on poor providers. The commission can impose or vary conditions where older people may be at risk. It can cancel the registration if that is the only way to ensure safety. Areas highlighted as needing urgent attention include record-keeping, medication, care plans and staff supervision.
The provision of social contact and activities in a care home has increased by only 8 per cent since 2003, showing that there is still a long way to go.
That is an issue that particularly bugs home residents and their families. A quarter of local authorities could do much more in terms of enabling all people who use services to receive personalised care. But the underlying funding issues are not addressed. We know that hundreds of thousands of older people are not getting the care they need. Local authority fees to care providers are inadequate and are likely to be squeezed further.
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The Government has promised to tackle this funding gap in a White Paper early next year. The commission’s report demonstrates the urgent need for cross-party consensus on radical reform.
Stephen Burke is chief executive of Counsel and Care, a charity that helps elderly people and their carers