Disabled and vulnerable people are going without a wash, proper meals and trips to the toilet because case workers are too rushed to do their job properly, says the UNISON union.
Their report, entitled Making Visits Matter, surveyed 1,000 home care workers, and found that 63% of them reported only getting 15 minutes to help people with personal tasks and 75% end up compromising the dignity of people because they are too rushed. 89% of the workers do not even have the chance of a short chat with those they care for, even when these people do not see anyone else for the rest of the day.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Care staff try to do their best within a system that increasingly prioritises quotas over compassion. Elderly and disabled people are ending up lonely, without dignity and with their care needs unmet. Care workers and the vulnerable people they look after will continue to be failed by a flawed system unless the government acts.”
Download the report on Unison’s website