28/10/2014
Labour MP Liz Kendall visited a highly regarded care home in Honley and promised to find ways to eliminate 15-minute care visits after talking with the provider’s owner, carers and families of residents.
Kendall, who was appointed in 2011 as shadow minister for Care and Older People, made the visit to Home Instead Care (HIC) in Huddersfield Rd, Honley after invitation from Jane East, Colne Valley’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate of the Labour Party.
Kendall said East invited her to come down to Honley so that she can see for herself an example of good care home service and hear direct feedback from carers and family members of residents which can be valuable in formulating Labour’s care policy.
Calls to end short care visits have been ringing since 2013 when Leonard Cheshire Disability published a study which revealed that 60 per cent of councils in the UK are enforcing care visits lasting up to only 15 minutes. Carers and family members complained that the short interval is insufficient to properly provide necessary care to disabled elderly patients.
The Care Act 2014 was passed recently in order to address concerns over such short visits.
James Little, HIC Huddersfield owner, bared to Kendall several recommendations to address concerns over the quality of care for elderly people during the Labour MP’s visit.
Little recommended that a rating system should be established for care providers so that people will be able to know those that are performing well.
Kendall welcomed the recommendations and said: “We’ve got to join up the NHS and care services locally, we’ve got to end the scandal of the 15 minute home visits and we’ve got to support the families who provide vital care too.”
