Ministers reject care staff register

A bid to set up a register of qualified healthcare assistants has been rejected by the government during committee-stage scrutiny of the Care Bill.

Crossbench peer and former director-general of Age Concern England, Baroness Greengross, urged the government to set up the register to avoid “dreadful cases” like Winterbourne View, since the current system allows “unqualified, unregistered” staff to look after vulnerable people.

In October 2012, six people were jailed for their role in abusing patients at the private hospital near Bristol after an investigation by BBC’s Panorama.

However, Earl Howe argued: “The placing of hundreds of thousands of individuals on a list would not of itself ensure that we never again see the appalling failings in care highlighted by Mid-Staffordshire and Winterbourne View.”

He advocated “strong and effective leadership of the workforce” and said that this “is where the focus for improvement should lie”.

The bill introduces a single statute on care and support to simplify the law in this area.

It will cap the cost of social care that someone has to pay, as recommended by the Dilnot social care review, as well as giving carers the legal right to support from their council.

There will be Ofsted-style ratings for hospitals and care homes, and new powers of intervention for the chief inspector of hospitals to identify any problems with the quality of care.