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Leading disability charity calls for better quality, choice and value for money in draft social care bill

14 January 2013

‘There should be no take it or leave it mentality in providing care for disabled people,’ says CEO.

Leonard Cheshire Disability has submitted evidence to the joint committee of MPs and peers scrutinising the draft Care and Support Bill. The charity is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of social care services to disabled people and a leading disability campaigning charity.

One of the key recommendations from the charity is to end the commissioning of 15-minute home care visits for disabled people, unless the person specifically requests a short visit. ‘It’s not “care” if the care worker doesn’t take their coat off – it’s box-ticking,’ said Clare Pelham, Chief Executive of Leonard Cheshire Disability.

In the charity’s written evidence to the joint committee, Clare Pelham said: ‘We are extremely concerned that the trend towards commissioning ever-shorter visits compromises the quality of care for disabled people. A 15-minute visit is simply not enough in almost every case to deliver quality care and support. Unless a person specifically wants a 15-minute care visit, it should not be commissioned.’

Other key proposals from the charity include:
  • Ensuring that every person who provides paid care to a disabled or older person is suitably trained and supported.
  • Making it compulsory for care providers to carry out annual surveys to provide early warning of unsafe or unsuitable services from people living in their care homes. Those providers with results below a good standard should not be allowed to continue.
  • Making sure that care services support disabled people to be able to participate in work or other activity.
  • Ensuring that everyone has a genuine choice of at least two options on how and where they receive support.
  • Calling for stronger economic regulation of the social care market to ensure that care fees are genuinely spent on providing care.

The joint committee considering the draft Care and Support Bill is likely to report in early March.

Media enquiries

For further information, please contact Theresa Hart in the Leonard Cheshire Disability press office on 020 3242 0290 (out of hours 07903 949 388) or email .