What Can We Do About Our Care Home Problem?

[youngmafbog]

Care home watchdogs have reported on 5,300 care homes this year finding 2,000 inadequate or in need of improvement which implies around 70,000 vulnerable residents are are not being cared for at the required standard.

So lets get one thing out the way and save some who wont think before putting digit to keyboard some embarrassment, this has nothing to do with cuts to the NHS, these are private.

Knowing people who work in care I've known about this for some time. One of the main problems in the UK seems to come from imported labour who are not trained and speak little English. There attitude to the elderly is totally different to our expectations but care home bosses, pocketing big wads of cash whilst the workers barely get minimum wage, just dont seem to care.

Perhaps part of the problem is that, unlike the Asian family, in the West we no longer want to be part of a large group all looking out for each other instead opting for individual careers and living often miles apart. And yes, my family is part of that.

But what can be done? This does seem to be a Western thing not just the UK.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4766346/At-70-000-vulnerable-people-risk-care-homes.html

[Old_Geezer]

Could nationalise them and thus ensure best practice at all.

Families ought not be left to cope, some have more ability/resource than others, plus it encourages large families. No one should be left to whatever family remains when help's needed. It's the unsociable easy option.

[Old_Geezer]

Once nationalised they can then be considered part of the NHS and it then becomes an NHS budget issue. You've consolidated smaller issues into one larger manageable issue.

[hc4361]

Many people in care home have children in the 70s who are physically or mentally unable to look after them. The grandchildren could be bringing up children and working full time.
The carer's allowance is absolutely pitiful and needs to be increased.

[fiction-factory]

Nationalisation is worth considering but i can't seee it would amke much difference to the recruitment issues nd reliance on overseas staff.
How would it work O_G- would the governement buy all their buildings from the private companies (or lease them? ) and give other compensation, or would we confiscate them as the former would be very expensive?

[woofgang]

Actually you aren’t quite correct there. Yes the care homes are private but the vast majority of the affordable end of the market rely on care that is whole or part funded by social services...and they(social services)have their own budget problems and make every effort to keep care home (and home care) costs to them as low as possible. I have been in social services meetings many years ago where the discussion was how to control the market and keep prices down. At the time the equation was that, for homes who took social services funded care, the running costs of the home were covered by social services funded residents (provided those places were kept full) and any net profit came from privately purchased places which tended to have better facilities and cost a bit more. In other words, it was essential to stay in the good books of the local social services arm of the council to be able to stay in business.

[naomi24]

A lot of people have made a lot of money from owning care homes. Perhaps we should think about how thinly spread the NHS now is and return it to its original remit of providing essential medical care from cradle to grave. Without all the wastage on non-essential cosmetic procedures, gastric bands, non-essential gender realignment, etc., etc., not to mention poor management of funds, the NHS could quite possibly afford to care for the elderly properly. A controversial proposal, probably, but there you are.

[woofgang]

Residential care is not funded by the NHS. The NHS will contribute to the care of people in residential care who have got medical needs but the day to day living and personal assistance type care is funded by the Social Services function of County Councils and Unitary Authorities.

[naomi24]

Indeed - but still public money.

[Old_Geezer]

Would be for the government to decide, ff. But as a working suggestion one could identify those failing miserably, as these can't be worth much and are in need of rescuing. So those go for a song. And gradually work one's way up the failures until only decent places remain.

[EDDIE51]

I don't know the answer but I do know the problem is going to get much worse very soon due to the increase in the elderly population coupled with the cuts in spending.
We 'Baby Boomers' are in our late 60s to 70s now, and are starting to need care ourselves, our children need to work full time to earn enough to afford housing so can't look after us.

[EDDIE51]

Also I hate to mention it, but a large % of care home staff are from the EU particularly Eastern Europe. The numbers of them that want to come to UK to work is already dropping due to Brexit and that is going to get worse as well once we leave. There are very few British citizens willing to do such work for the minimum wage.

[whiskeryron]

I live in a very good care home, funded by local council. Most of the Carers are from Eastern Europe & are excellent, however they all work 12 hour shifts for pitiful wages & I think they should definitely be paid more for the tremendous work they do.

[woofgang]

OG...nationalisation ensures best practice......in what universe?

[mikey4444]

Simple answers.....

1......nationalise all these private money-making places, and have the care of old people back where it belongs......under local council responsibility, as it always used to be.

2.....increase local authority budgets, so that they can
a.....staff these places properly
b.....inspect them on a regular basis.

These are our elderly relatives at risk here, and we should be prepared to spend the money to see that they get given the very best care that is possible.

Not enough money in the system ?....again, simple solution...increase taxation until we have enough.

And before anyone asks....yes, I would be prepared to pay more taxes in order that the most vulnerable in our society get the care they deserve

[youngmafbog]

//Not enough money in the system ?....again, simple solution...increase taxation until we have enough. //

Ah the Socialist mantra. It doesnt work though for various economic reasons particularity when the amount of tax needed would be huge as in this case. However I do think the local authority should be part of the competition they should be vying for business not putting it the private owners way.

Staffing is another issue. Leaving Europe is not really an issue, many care workers are from Africa or India and last time I looked they were not in the EU. I believe we should have proper apprenticeships and career paths to encourage people to go into care rather than just poaching other countries' care workers (same goes for Nurses).

I'm not sure Nationalisation is the answer in the past it has simply ended up as management vs union and I see no reason why that would not happen again.

[woofgang]

Where I live there are NO local authority run homes, they place people in private homes that will accept local authority rates....not sure that any local authority operates its own res. care now.

[youngmafbog]

No, I think they pretty much all stopped it. That is why I think they should start it and run for business agaainst the private homes. That way you have 'Nationalisation' but with a private slant which should alieviate many of the probllems of pure Nationalisation.

//day to day living and personal assistance type care is funded by the Social Services function of County Councils and Unitary Authorities. //

Not entirely correct. A 'levy' is put on the many private people paying to help cover the cost. It's quite substantial in many areas.

[cassa333]

If the Local Authorites could run a care home on the amount they expect the private sector to they would be capable of doing it themselves.

BUT they are not. Which begs the question, if the LA couldn't do it what makes you think it can be done in the private sector that, let's be honest has to make a profit.

You can't nationalise everything. You can fund it in its entirety, part fund it or make no provision for funding.

Responsibility for your life is not the sole responsibility of the nation/government. It is yours with a bit of help and support from the nation/government.

[woofgang]

Youngmafbog "Not entirely correct. A 'levy' is put on the many private people paying to help cover the cost. It's quite substantial in many areas”

Sorry I have no idea what you mean by this.

[Old_Geezer]

Nationalisation gives the opportunity to ensure best practice in all universes. Not all make the most of the opportunity.