Working to protect the rights of older people in care

In recent years we’ve seen the devastating impact of people being isolated in health and care settings, denied contact with their family and friends. The damage done to peoples’ health and wellbeing has been tremendous. It cannot be allowed to happen again. 

We are calling for a new legal right to be introduced to guarantee people’s access to in-person support from at least one ‘Care Supporter’ – a person important to them such as a relative or friend. 

Our call for a new legal right has secured cross-party support from over 60 MPs, and is supported by over 70 organisations including Healthwatch, Mind, Mencap, Alzheimer’s Society, Parkinson’s UK, Dementia UK and Disability Rights UK, as well as many care providers.

The next few years will be critical for social care; there is a huge task to deliver care and support people can rely on. Years of underfunding left the care sector stretched and vulnerable. Now, three years of pandemic have left the sector in crisis. Urgent and substantial reform is needed to ensure the system is fit for purpose, for the hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people who rely on it today, and for the future.

People who need support should have peace of mind that their care will be delivered by staff who are kind, compassionate, confident and skilled. When moving into care, people should be able to expect that their new home will be a welcoming, comfortable and caring environment where they can develop a sense of belonging.

We hear daily from families about the harm and anguish caused by having to deal with the failing care system. They can face an uphill battle to get their basic rights and needs met, causing unnecessary stress, anxiety and trauma. They tell us they feel let down by the system which should protect their rights.

We must create a care system where people’s basic rights are met and the care they receive is appropriately funded and staffed. Care staff must be properly rewarded, trained, qualified and supported. This will help to break the cycle of vacancies and reliance on agency staff, assisting financially as well as with quality.

We will:

• Raise awareness of quality care and rights; campaign for new rights to protect people needing care, including a legal right to the support of a relative/friend when using care and health services

• Demand reform of the sector so that the rights of people needing care are respected

• Hold the government and regulator to account in protecting the rights of people needing care

• Demand the professionalisation of the sector, including mandatory training and qualifications, and improved pay for care staff

• Demand improved standards and better regulation

We are core participants in the Covid-19 public inquiry, working hard to ensure that lessons are learnt from the pandemic, and to ensure that care rights are respected now and in the future.

In our evidence to the inquiry, we will highlight the need for a better understanding of the care sector at the top of government, with a focus on people, not institutions. Drawing on our work over the pandemic, we will call for better systems to protect the rights of people needing care - the impact on people isolated from family carers should be the catalyst for real change. 

Announcing our work on the inquiry, our director, Helen Wildbore, said:

“The families we’ve been supporting need, and deserve, answers. About the devastating loss of life, about the neglect of social care, about the harm and misery caused by isolation from family. The voices of older people needing care have too long been ignored. We will push for the answers they are so desperate for and ensure lessons are learned to prevent this human rights crisis from happening again.”