A review of residential care for older people in Wales has been criticised because it will be missing out on vital expertise from the social care sector.
Care Forum Wales is disappointed that the Older People’s Commissioner in Wales will not have a “provider expert” on her official Advisory Panel.
The organisation, which represents 500 providers in Wales, believes it would also be important to consider the impact of chronic underfunding on the sector.
Commissioner Sarah Rochira has revealed the review team will make unannounced visits to 100 care homes as part of the process.
Mario Kreft MBE, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, said: “Care Forum Wales is dedicated to developing and promoting best practice in social care and the timing of this review could not be better given the Social Services Bill and the new White Paper on Regulation. We support the overall aims of the Review and its stated methodology.
“Our disappointment however – which will be shared by many providers – is that the Commissioner has not included a provider expert on the main Advisory Panel. As far as we can see, no-one who has lived in, worked in, managed or owned a care home is represented on the Panel. In our view, this misses the opportunity for partnership working and to engage the sector fully into the Advisory Panel.
“We had hoped that the more enlightened approach of fully involving the sector would have been taken and it appears counter-intuitive to exclude that expertise from the discussions.
“It is one thing to be a stakeholder or a consultee, however often you are consulted, but it is very different to be a valued equal partner around the table.
“Sadly, the early headlines are suggesting that the media are already seeing this as another opportunity for a public bashing of the care home sector.
“We have seen this type of review many times before and we sincerely hope that this will be different although the sector will be reserving it’s judgement until the publication of the report.
“The more enlightened approach would be to build in the many positives while at the same time applying the principle of that old Welsh adage that something is not good if it can be made better.
“The sector in Wales needs investment and confidence not a continual stream of negativity.
“The Commissioner in her statement says ‘I have spoken frequently about the many excellent examples of health and social care in Wales and the many dedicated staff’. With so much acknowledged best practise in social care in Wales it is disappointing that this expertise is not represented.
“As with any service, there are resource implications and a provider expert could have brought to the review a greater balance and expertise in assessing the evidence of the link between the commissioning process and the funding formulas and their impact on providing care services in these challenging times.
“We are extremely concerned that the funding pressures on local authorities and local health boards are having a negative effect on this vitally important sector.
“In Wales, around 80 per cent of people in a residential care home, including those who need nursing care, are publically funded.
“These are public services, funded by public money that are commissioned by local authorities or local health board and are provided by the independent sector.
“The current system in Wales does not promote or reward quality. The amount of funding provided by local authorities and local health boards is not sufficient and should be addressed as part of the Review.
“It is clear the review is not going to look at people in hospital but, The independent sector provides 11,500 nursing beds and many of those people would otherwise be in a hospital. The review provides the opportunity to recognise the value for money that the care homes sector provides in Wales and how it is a positive driver for our economy. It also underpins the NHS.
“We look forward to contributing to the Review and working with the Commissioner to find ways of addressing the inequalities in the provision of services for older people and highlight the initiatives and partnerships that will continue to improve our services into the future.”
In her briefing to stakeholders, Sarah Rochira said: “I have travelled extensively across Wales meeting with many older people living in care homes, as well as frontline carers, and seen for myself the impact that high quality residential care can have on the lives of older people.
“Whilst residential care is not an option for everyone, and increasingly need not be, for many older people it will continue to be a key way in which they receive the care and support they need and are supported to live lives that have value, meaning and purpose.
“However, in the past year I have received an increasing amount of correspondence about the quality of life and care of older people in residential care across Wales. I have also provided individual support to older people and their families who have found themselves in the most distressing and unacceptable of circumstances to ensure that they are safe and well cared for.
“I have spoken frequently about the many excellent examples of health and social care in Wales and the many dedicated staff in both the public and private sector. However, I have also spoken publicly about what I consider to be unacceptable variations in the quality of life and care of older people in residential care.
“I have been clear that we fail to keep too many older people safe and free from harm, that too many older people are not treated in a compassionate and dignified way and that, for some, their quality of life is unacceptable.”
