Welsh Government ‘failing care home residents’ – report
The Welsh Government is failing care home residents across Wales by not taking action to improve their quality of life, according to a new report.
Published by Older People’s Commissioner for Wales Sarah Rochira, the report found the government had failed to take action it promised in a number of key areas to drive up the quality of life for older people living in care homes in Wales.
The new report, called A Place to Call Home: Impact & Analysis, set out the findings of a programme of follow-up work undertaken by the commissioner to assess whether public bodies had delivered on commitments made following the Care Home Review in 2014.
That showed too many older people living in care homes in Wales had an unacceptable quality of life. Ms Rochira focused on 15 areas of concern identified in the Care Home Review including falls prevention, the use of anti-psychotic medication, and dementia training.
Public bodies submitted written evidence setting out the progress made against the requirements for action set out in the review.
The report found that although some progress had been made by health boards and local authorities many still need to do more work to provide assurance that the change required to improve the quality of life of care home residents will be delivered.
The report found “many public bodies failed to demonstrate that the selected requirements for action are being driven in a way that makes a meaningful difference to the lives of older people living in care homes”.
Only a third of responses to the commissioner’s requirements for action were judged “sufficient”, despite the fact “good progress is clearly achievable”.
The report found there was “not enough focus on preventative activities” by health boards to stop falls, with a concern that local authorities were also not addressing the issue of dementia training “comprehensively”.
It also stated that health boards had “failed to provide or publish clear accurate data in relation to the use of anti-psychotic medication in care homes”, despite “some evidence ... provided of good practice and projects leading to reductions in the prescribing of anti-pyschotic medication in some areas”.
The report added: “The uneven level of services across the sector and lack of corporate oversight may pose potential risks to some residents.” It also found that there were “no planned actions ... in place to address national insufficiencies in the availability of nurses in care homes”.
Ms Rochira said she was “very disappointed” that the Welsh Government “has failed to show sufficient leadership and take sufficient action in a number of key areas” following the reviewing, adding: “There must be a renewed focus from the Welsh Government, health boards and local authorities on taking meaningful action to deliver upon the commitments they made in response to my Care Home Review. A failure to do so will mean that our care home system is unable to meet the changing care and support needs of older people and, more importantly, will mean that too many older people living in care homes continue to have an unacceptable quality of life.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Since the publication of the Older People’s Commissioner’s report in November 2014 we have legislated for major changes to the way social care is delivered in Wales.
“A new organisation, Social Care Wales, has also been created with the aim of making sure people in Wales can call on a high-quality social care workforce that provides services to fully meet their needs.”
The spokesman added: “Whilst we acknowledge there is still much work to do we do not recognise the headline claim made. We will, however, be considering the report in more detail.”