93% of Britons back our fight to put cameras in care homes
AN overwhelming majority of people last night backed the use of surveillance cameras in care homes to protect vulnerable people from abuse and neglect.
Research has revealed resounding public support for the Daily Express crusade to install CCTV in homes, following a string of shocking incidents.
The results of a survey of more than 1,000 people bolstered calls for the care industry to “no longer bury its head in the sand” when protecting our oldest and most vulnerable members of society.
Nearly 93 per cent favour protecting residents with CCTV after a catalogue of abuse was captured on covert cameras and experts said the poll showed the public was saying “enough is enough”.
The survey comes as this newspaper, which is fighting for Britain’s pensioners through our Respect For The Elderly crusade, pushes for a new law making cameras compulsory in all care home areas.
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, who will raise the issue in Parliament on September 5, said last night: “The size of the concern expressed reflects the desire to see improvements in quality of care. CCTV would help this.”
Describing care home abuse as “scandalous”, he added: “They are also criminal offences so we have a strong incentive for trying to make sure it doesn’t happen. I think this is achievable and could become law.”
Security monitoring expert Ben Wilson, of Care Protect, which commissioned the research, said: “People are saying enough is enough and something must be done to ensure that older and vulnerable people are cared for and supported in safe environments.
“At a time when many care providers are suffering significant financial constraints and the media are regularly highlighting issues of abuse and poor care standards, this research demonstrates the overwhelming public support for innovative solutions.
“The care industry can no longer bury its head in the sand about what is happening.” Around 16,000 care homes are registered with the Care Quality Commission. Since 2013, at least 100,000 safeguarding referrals were investigated, but many were hampered by a lack of evidence.
People have been left sickened by abuse and neglect captured on covert cameras in relatives’ rooms.
There is no current requirement for providers to monitor communal areas, but campaigners say residents, their families, carers and care home providers would all benefit. Jayne Connery set up pressure group Care Campaign for the Vulnerable after her dementia-stricken mother Ellen was hit in the corridor of a care home. Police could not press charges due to a lack of CCTV, even though the carer admitted slapping her.
Mrs Connery, who now looks after her mother at home in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, said: “I felt powerless. It’s horrific.”
Mr Wilson said using intelligent cameras, which monitor on an “events”-only basis, would ease any fears over privacy. He said: “Surveillance systems not only protect service users but also staff if they are wrongly accused of abuse.
“Technological advances have the potential to boost confidence and drive up standards as well as protecting and this needs to be recognised by providers and industry regulators in the same way as the public clearly does.”