Deeply concerning care home warning
SOME of the most difficult discussions a family can have concern whether a loved one should enter a care home.
Today’s report from Sarah Rochira, the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, will do nothing to put deeply anxious minds at rest.
She does not pull her punches, stating she is “very disappointed” that the Welsh Government has “failed to show sufficient leadership and take sufficient action” in areas such as “continence care, falls prevention and workforce planning”.
Ms Rochira wants a “national approach” to “drive meaningful cultural change, ensure greater accountability and promote the more effective use of evidencebased good practice.”
When sons and daughters help say goodnight to a mum or dad in a care home they make their way back to their own homes desperately hoping that their parent is in the best possible place – that this is somewhere he or she is least likely to suffer a fall but most likely to get the best help with their most personal needs.
Ms Rochira is emphatic that the Welsh Government is not showing the type of leadership she wants put into action.
Resources may be tightly stretched but scarcity of cash in no way excuses anyone from responsibility. Our older population deserve care homes that operate according to the very best practice in the world with staff who are trained and managed to the highest standards.
Many staff have been drawn to this work because it is an opportunity to provide compassion and help to people just when they need it most. But they will be able to do an even better job if they are trained and empowered to provide the most appropriate care – and this will not happen unless there is a focus on driving up standards.
The report warns that “evidence from all but two health boards was weak and demonstrated a failure to acknowledge how serious the current nursing situation is”.
It is unacceptable if one person in Wales suffers neglect in a care home. Vigilance is required so that horror stories from other parts of the UK are not repeated here.
It is worrying that people cannot be assured that they will receive the best possible care no matter where they go, with the Commissioner warning of “inconsistency in approaches and differential access to specialist services, support and appropriate continence products”.
Ms Rochira pushes the Welsh Government, health boards and councils to deliver on commitments already made, stating: “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.”
Only one third of the responses to her “requirements for action” have been judged “sufficient”. This is not good enough.
It is a badge of pride that Wales has an Older People’s Commissioner but she must be heeded. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%