Not a single council has signed up to Unison’s charter to improve standards of home care

Unison launched its Ethical Home Care Charter to improve standards of home care in November and six months on, not a single local authority has signed up to it.

Unison, the UK’s largest union, launched the charter to establish a minimum baseline for the safety, quality and dignity of home care.

The charter was a direct response to a report from the union that revealed widespread fear from home care workers that short visit times and high staff turnover mean the care they are able to give falls far short of clients’ needs for safety, dignity and an ongoing relationship with their care worker.

Helga Pile, national officer for care workers at Unison said: “The ethical home care charter is designed to protect those receiving and delivering care and we are disappointed that the uptake has been so slow.

She added: “However, we are working with a number of councils who support the principles behind the charter and exploring ways of being able to take it further.”

Councils that sign up to the charter and become Ethical Care Councils, pledge to only commission care from providers that match the time allocated to visits to the particular needs of the client. This would mean that 15-minute visits would hardly be used as they undermine the dignity of the clients, according to the charter. People in receipt of home care would be given the same home care worker wherever possible.

Under the charter, home care workers would be paid for their travel time, their travel costs and other necessary expenses such as mobile phone use. They would also be given the time to talk to their clients.

The charter urges councils from the commissioning stage onwards to ensure employment conditions allow home care providers to give their clients the best care possible.

Ms Pile added: “The measures contained in the charter aren’t rocket science, the charter simply recognises the huge importance of home care to those that receive it, and establishes a baseline for safety, quality and dignity of care for clients, and an environment in which the professionals who provide this care can work safely, efficiently and fairly.”

The report by Unison last year found nearly 80 per cent of home workers reported their work schedule is arranged in such a way that they either have to rush their work or leave a client early to get to their next visit on time. Fifty-eight per cent were not paid for their travelling time between visits, which results in many being paid below the national minimum wage.

Forty-one per cent of homecare workers are not given specialist training to deal with their clients specific medical needs, such as dementia and stroke related conditions.

Unison has received support for its Ethical Home Care Charter from the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA). The body represents charities, including those that provide homecare. Heather Wakefield, Unison’s head of local government, called the support of NAVCA “a huge boost.”

She added: “Charities know how hard it is to provide decent home care when costs carry on being driven down and price is the only concern. It is time for councils who commission or provide these services to take responsibility for the welfare of those who receive, and provide them.

“Short visiting times, and ever-changing client lists are severely limiting the ability of homecare workers to provide quality and continuity of care. It is a scandal that the system is characterised by low wages, minimum training and relies so heavily on the goodwill of those who provide these vital services to hold it together.”

Joe Irvin, chief executive of NAVCA, said: “We support the Ethical Care Charter as it brings together those receiving care and their families with the people providing the care. They all want the same thing, a high standard of care that put the person needing care at its heart.

“I hope that local councils feel able to sign up to this charter. People who need care in their home deserve high quality support not a ‘race to the bottom’ where price is everything. Commissioners should consider the real cost of poor home care, which can often result in premature admission to a residential home or hospital. Commissioners should also recognise the extra ‘social value’ charities bring to people-centred services such as homecare.”

If you want to vote on whether there should be a minimum time of 30 minutes for home care visits, please go to www.homecare.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/12/should-there-be-a-minimum-time-of-30-minutes-for-home-care-visits