Dignity in Care Commission sets out key recommendations

The Commission on Improving Dignity in Care has published its draft report and recommendations, submitted for public consultation and certain to be a key topic of debate for the care sector as the Government moves closer to deciding on whether to implement the Andrew Dilnot reforms outlined last year.

Established as a joint initiative, the Commission incorporates directives from the NHS Confederation, Age UK and the Local Government Association, with the aim of establishing long-term solutions that safeguard against the likelihood of undignified care through a better understanding of how service failures to older people’s care occur.

The draft report sets out ten key recommendations, for both hospitals and care homes, with a full report scheduled to be published in the summer after a consultation period has given time for review and clarification.

The key recommendations for care homes include the establishment of a Care Quality Forum to consider staffing and recruitment issues, the development of a care home rating scheme recognisable to all sector professionals, the building of healthy community links through the use of volunteers, and the investment in more advanced forms of care technology.

The Commission also looks to address the duty of carers to meet residents’ best interests, the role of local authorities and the challenges of securing enough care provision for the rising number of dementia sufferers.

The draft report has received a positive response from the sector, with the UK director of Bupa Care Homes, the country’s second largest care home provider, commenting ‘Today’s report recognises there is some great care being provided across the sector by thousands of dedicated staff who work extremely hard to ensure that dignity of all the older people in their care is their top priority. We welcome and support the Commission’s call for best practice to be celebrated and shared better across the social care sector’.

Jeremy Hughes, the chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, also commented on the need to prioritise dementia care, saying ‘There is no such thing as a one size fits all approach to care. Every person has different needs, preferences and fears. Yet these differences are too often being dismissed or ignored by a system that often seems to have lost its sense of priorities.

‘People with dementia are some of the hardest hit by the current failings. They are staying in hospital longer than necessary and being deprived of a good quality of life in care homes. We need to make sure that red tape and ticklists are replaced by compassion and understanding and that people are put back at the centre of care. Empowering staff with dementia trainingand giving vulnerable people a voice are the first steps along this path.’

Frank Ursell, chief executive of the Registered Nursing Homes Association (RNHA), also welcomed the focus on the dignity of older people and praised the consultation for bringing up the issue of carers’ pay. ‘The fact that the Local Government Association is supporting a review of pay and conditions is highly significant. We in the long-term care sector have argued for many years that we are suffering from a lack of adequate resources to sustain consistently high standards.’