15-minute visits condemned by minister for care and support

Minister for care and support, Norman Lamb, recently visited leading West Yorkshire care provider Czajka Care Group to get an insight into how home care is being provided and where improvements need to be made.

Mr Lamb was joined by Councillor Jeanette Sunderland and MP for Bradford East David Ward, meeting with members of Bradford Care Association to gain a better understanding of how the home care system is benefiting service users in Bradford.

The Bradford Care Association is comprised of a number of independent care providers in West Yorkshire and hopes to improve the standard of care that people currently receive whilst giving the home care industry a voice.

Mr Lamb said: "The 15-minute visits are not good, only in very limited circumstances are they appropriate. Just planning visits for 15 minutes is not the right way to do it, it’s out of date. The care providers in Bradford want to meet with Bradford Council to see how they can work the system better and more effectively because it’s just a false economy how it's run at the moment.

“I’m extremely concerned after visiting Bradford, the care providers I have met are very committed to try to do the right thing and I want to call for a fundamental review of health and care budgets in Bradford. The system is under enormous pressure, people are living longer and the council needs to engage with the care providers and the voluntary sector."

Chairman and managing director of Czajka Care Group, Konrad Czajka, said: “We were delighted to welcome Norman Lamb to Bradford and introduce him to our team and our clients as well as demonstrating some of the forward-thinking training initiatives we provide. Members of the Bradford Care Association had the opportunity to have their voices heard at the highest level and they talked to Mr Lamb about key issues facing the industry as well as looking at how we can all work together to ensure the very highest standards of care throughout the region and beyond.”

During his visit, Mr Lamb met with home care service user, Leo Walsh, who lives in one of the apartments at the group’s Nab Wood development, Fairmount Park. Mr Walsh has multiple sclerosis, and has battled to have his home care fees paid by the NHS’s continued care funding.

He said: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the minister and talking to him about my battle to meet the costs of my homecare. Not everyone is prepared to fight their corner, and there are many elderly and vulnerable people who just accept what they are told and settle for the minimum amount of care on offer.”

Mr Czajka added: “Home carers are being given just 15 minutes to wash, cook and care for elderly residents and needy patients in the Bradford district and the real value of what can be achieved in 15 minutes, and whether that includes travel time, is hotly disputed. Payments by the Council are £12.50 an hour, a figure that has only risen by 50p since 2001 and we are struggling to retain care staff to carry out the work for such a low rate.”

Czajka Care Group provides home and domiciliary care to people in Yorkshire within its Czajka Community Care division and has five residential care and nursing homes.