Social care outsourcing is ‘failed, expensive experiment’, union leader warns
Social care is in “crisis”, badly letting down the elderly, vulnerable and those with the greatest needs, a union leader has warned.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said the sector was now a “ticking timebomb” for the nation’s future.
He told the annual conference in Bournemouth of the Local Government Association: “From 15-minute visits to no training for staff, and some of the worst employment conditions I have witnessed in years, care workers juggle the complex demands of those they care for.
“Many do so without payment for their travel and others have seen their pay for sleep-in shifts cuts.
“Yet it’s possible to earn more on the till in Tesco than racing from one client to the next.
“It’s no wonder so many care workers are always tired and exhausted, left feeling guilty that there’s simply no time to care.”
Mr Prentis (pictured) said problems included funding and “hidden structures” behind many care companies, based on short-term property portfolios, not the longevity of provision.
He added that privatisation and outsourcing in local government is a “failed, expensive experiment”, that keeps evolving without any improvement to services.
“Councils of every political persuasion have done it, some for purely ideological reasons, others couched in the language of cost savings.
“But even when funding is stretched, privatisation is still a false economy.
“It means worse services that are unaccountable to local councillors, with cost savings, if in fact there are any, gained at the expense of the very workforce needed to deliver that service.
“Privatisation fails the workforce and your communities.”
Mr Prentis attacked Tory leadership rivals Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson for not mentioning local government during their campaigns.
Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Anthony Devlin / PA Wire.
