The number of care homes being rated 'bad’ or ‘poor'
by families has doubled in past five years with one in four now deemed
unacceptable, new figures show.
The Good Care Guide, a Tripadvisor-style website which
allows relatives and residents to rate care services, has shown a serious decline since
2012.
While just one in 10 reviews reported homes as
being poor or bad five years ago, the number has now soared to one in four.
The charity AgeUK said people now needed to be 'jolly lucky' to
receive good care.
Families complained about inadequately trained staff
who did not know how to lift patients or care for those with dementia, as well
as problems with hygiene and the dispensing of medication.
People who needed care in their own homes also
complained of rushed or cancelled visits, rude staff and poor timekeeping. A
daughter of a woman with Alzheimer’s said that her mother had been left without
food for nine hours after care workers failed to turn up.
AgeUK said elderly people had to be 'jolly lucky'
to find a good care home
“One carer actually spend a bedtime visit arguing
with her boyfriend on her mobile phone rather than helping mum to bed,” she
added.
One family complained there mother’s help buzzer
had been placed out of reach so she could not call for help, while others said
that complaints of abuse had been ignored.
One reviewer advised: “Think very carefully before
putting a relative in a care home.”
Stephen Burke, director of Good Care Guide and
director of United for All Ages, said: “Poor reviews for care for older people
reflect the growing concerns about the funding of care and the care crisis.
“With our ageing population and more older people
needing care at home, it’s critical that families can access home care services
they can rely on.
“As government puts more of the responsibility onto
families for providing and paying for care for older people, we expect their
reviews to get even tougher about the quality of care. We must learn from what
families think about care.”
More than two-fifths of reviews of home care
agencies in 2016 rated them as poor or bad for quality of service and for value
for money.
Caroline Abrahams, director of AgeUK said:
"There have been warnings that we were reaching a tipping point in social
care and it feels like we have just gone over it.
"There are people out there who are getting
good care, but you have to be jolly lucky.
"It's clear that the care system needs an
emergency injection of money and the government needs to pull its finger out
and recognise how bad things really are.
"Nobody wants to say 'we told you so' but this
is completely what we were expecting."
The analysis of 9,000 reviews also found that
standards at nurseries were declining. In 2012 88 per cent of reviews rated
nurseries as good or excellent, but that dropped to 82 per cent in 2012.
The number of nurseries rated as poor or bad value
for money also increased from nine per cent to 12.8 per cent last year.
“Once again families rate childcare as better than
eldercare,” added Mr Burke.
“There are a lot of changes ahead for childcare in
2017. The government is extending free childcare to thirty hours a week for
three and four-year-olds and introducing childcare tax breaks.
“These changes will create challenges for childcare
providers and for parents. The extra government funding for childcare must be
used to help more parents get into and stay in work. Feedback from families
will show what difference is being made.”
A Department of Health spokesman said:
"We recognise the pressures of an ageing population on our adult social
care services - that's why it's pleasing that the CQC has recently rated the
majority of adult social care as good or outstanding.
"Many councils are already providing
high-quality social care services and timely assessments and we will continue
to challenge those that are failing to do so".
SOURCE: Telegraph, Sarah Knapton
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