Articles

Care Bill Amendment Extends Human Rights Act Protection to Home Care Patients

07/05/2014

The House of Lords has amended the Care Bill to bring more human rights protection to patients receiving care at home. 

With the new provision care at home patients receiving treatment through a state entity or even a private organisation contracted by the government can obtain protection under the Human Rights Act. Patients who pay for their own care, on the other hand, will not receive the protection extended by the amended Care Bill.

The announcement comes after six months of pressure from charity groups for the disabled and elderly.

The charities claim disabled and elderly people receiving care at their homes are vulnerable to human rights abuses. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in a recent report claimed that seniors receiving treatment at home suffer various human rights abuses, including, unnecessary rough physical handling and disregard of dignity and privacy. Age UK, the country’s largest charity group for the elderly, also warned that many elderly receiving home care can be subjected to increased incidence of neglect and rush visits, especially with the recent budget cuts in social care.         

While various charities like Disability Rights UK are happy about the change, some groups are not satisfied with the current amendment. Age UK, for instance, considers the change as short-handed because of its exclusion of privately-funded patients.

Last October 2013 there was a proposal to extend Human Rights Act protection to all patients receiving care at home, whether funded by the state or privately. Parliament, however, voted against the inclusion of private care at home patients. Ministers scrapped the proposal because they said it will go beyond the scope of the Human Rights Act which do not regulate private matters, such as contracts between self-funding care at home patients and their care providers.

However with recent Care Home abuses in the media spotlight, it would not be unlikley that the amended will be revisted by Parliament.