Rochira ‘extremely disappointed’ by Welsh Government action on care homes

The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, has said she is ‘extremely disappointed’ by the response to her review of elderly protection in care homes from the Welsh Government.

The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) has also come in for criticism for failing to provide ‘adequate detail or acknowledge the change that needs to take place’ to deliver results that older people need.

Ms Rochira (pictured) conducted a care home review in 2014 and welcomed commitments from health boards and councils about how they will improve the quality of life for residents.

However, she said: “In my review I made very clear the impact of not taking action and the price that is paid by older people when public bodies fail to uphold people’s rights and protect them.

“I am therefore extremely disappointed that the responses from the Welsh Government and CSSIW in many instances failed to provide adequate detail or acknowledge the change that needs to take place to assure me that action will be taken that will deliver real and positive improvements for older people living in care homes.”

“My review is fundamentally about the lives that people lead in the place that they should be able to call home. It is important that the requirements for action in my review report are implemented by all the bodies who were subject to my review.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We continue to take strong action in relation to the care of older people, including introducing significant new legislation the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Bill – which include a new model of service regulation and statutory standards, which will apply to residential care and a framework within which care homes must operate.

“We have also set up a Care Homes Steering Group to provide leadership and ensure action is taken to improve care and support for older people.

“This includes coordination and oversight of the detailed work required to respond to the report by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales and the recent Flynn review into the abuse of older people at care homes involved in Operation Jasmine.”

Imelda Richardson, Chief Inspector for CSSIW, said: “Every year we complete thousands of inspections and talk directly to people about their experiences of care and how it contributes to their quality of life. This is the core of our work and we make sure people receiving care in Wales are safe.

“Year on year we see improvements in the care being delivered in Wales and saw a 64% reduction in the number of services who were considered a service of concern in 2014-15.

“We want to re-assure the public that we are an effective inspectorate and regulator – we always put the quality of the care that people receive at the heart of our work.

“We constantly review our work practices and inspection and regulation methodologies and continue to take our work seriously.

“Our powers will be further strengthened with the implementation of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Bill in 2017 and will also address a number of the concerns identified in the Flynn Review.”

Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “The attitude shown here by the Welsh Labour Government and CSSIW is not good enough. We need strong political leadership from Labour ministers on these issues and we need to know that those charged with ensuring that services are of good quality are responding to the challenges set out by the commissioner.

“We know that demand for these services is going to grow as our population age and as a nation we need to ensure that those citizens who can often be very vulnerable are looked after.”

Ms Rochira is currently analysing the responses received from care home providers and will make a statement in November that provides an overview of these responses. She also plans to undertake a further review in 18 months.

For more visit: http://www.olderpeoplewales.com/