Care home hits out at councils who provide 15-minute home care visits to people in need

A care home for the disabled which helps people in Burton and South Derbyshire has hit out at councils who provide 15-minute home care visits to people in need, amid concerns that the vulnerable are being deprived of 'appropriate and compassionate' care.

Leonard Cheshire Disability, which has a base in Netherseal named Newlands House, wants to put a stop to 'undignified and unsafe' care visits after it was revealed that at least 2,703 people in West Midlands received 15 minute care visits in 2015 and 2016.

Of these, 1,429 people live in areas where councils admit to still using 'flying' visits for personal care to support people with intimate needs such as washing, dressing and eating. More than 3,069 people in the East Midlands also received the short care visits.

In April 2015, the Government signed up to new statutory guidance from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nce) after it concluded compassionate and appropriate home care could not adequately be provided in less than 30 minutes. However, at least 34 out of 152 councils across England admit they still commission 15-minute visits to provide personal care to disabled and older people.

Leonard Cheshire Disability started campaigning to end these flying care visits through its Make Care Fair campaign, which started in 2013.

Neil Heslop, chief executive of Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: "We should not accept that disabled and older people are still having to endure the indignity and disrespect of receiving flying personal care visits.

"All of us need time to wash, eat and drink for ourselves, and 15 minutes is nowhere near enough to do these essential tasks if you need support. The reality is thousands of disabled people have to choose whether to go thirsty, go without a hot meal, or go without the toilet during these rushed visits.

"Councils should be observing official guidance and putting an end to 15 minute personal care visits for good. None of us would want our family and friends to receive personal care visits as short as 15 minutes, so we should not accept this happening across the country to anyone else."

Authorities covering the area have insisted that the length of social care visits in Burton and South Derbyshire depends on the needs of the person, with both Staffordshire and Derbyshire County Councils revealing that they only tend to use 15-minute visits for safe and well checks on the patient and time depends on the needs of that person and what they require help with.

Alan White, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for health, care and wellbeing, said: "We don't have a policy that insists on 15 minute calls. Instead our aim is to provide people with the right care that best suits their needs and ambitions, and allows them to live as independently as they wish for as long as possible. We work with the person to assess their needs and those of their carers, and what would be the best outcomes for them. This is then used to determine their personal budget, and the detailed package of care that this budget is spent on.

"As part of a wider package of care some people have a combination of shorter and longer visits depending on each particular task, for example, putting someone to bed would take longer than a simple safe and well check. These will always be tailored to the needs of the person receiving the care. We also use an electronic care monitoring system which enables us to monitor the amount of time care agencies are with people in their own homes, to ensure people are receiving the care they should."

A Derbyshire County Council spokesman said: "Fifteen minute calls are predominantly 'safe and well' checks and to remind people to take their medication, not to provide personal care. In many cases they are part of a wider package of support, and allow enough time to complete specific, time-limited tasks.

"We commission calls based on the assessed needs of clients and they are at the forefront of deciding when and how long calls should be and what tasks should be carried out within their available personal budget. Clients are involved in deciding what length of call they think is necessary to meet their care needs and this is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that people's needs and circumstances haven't changed.

"The council carries out hundreds of thousands of hours of high quality care to older and vulnerable people across the county every year, with some people receiving up to four visits per day. Running alongside home care, there are a number of other services including befriending, which can help people to combat loneliness and isolation and get out and about in their communities."

SOURCE: Burton Mail, Rhea Turner