EHRC Report Reveals Worrying Evidence

A medical law expert at Irwin Mitchell has called for urgent action after describing concerns raised over the human rights of elderly people getting home care as “unacceptable”.

Findings from the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC’s) inquiry into home care have revealed that basic rights are being overlooked in the provision of some services, with a number of worrying cases highlights.

Among the worst were cases were people were being left in bed for 17 hours or more between care visits, people being left in soiled beds and clothes and a failure to provide regular washes.

Other issues included visits being too brief for adequate care to be delivered, as well as a high staff turnover meaning people often get support from a large number of different carers.

Jonathan Peacock, a medical negligence specialist at Irwin Mitchell’s Bristol office, specialises in helping the families of elderly people who have been subjected to substandard care and treatment both in residential and home care.

He also represented the families of residents impacted by problems at the Maypole Nursing Home in Birmingham, where a range of serious failings were highlighted.

Commenting on the EHRC inquiry, Jonathan said: “The findings released so far have highlighted problems which are simply unacceptable.

“Elderly people who receive and depend on home care deserve to have access to the best possible standard of care, and it is very disappointing to see that this clearly isn’t the case in a number of instances.

“When twinned with the recent concerns raised over residential homes and hospitals, such as Winterbourne View in Bristol, it is clear that action needs to be taken provide reassurances that standards of care are going to improve.

“Vulnerable members of society deserve to get care that sees them treated with both dignity and respect, and we will continue to call for improvements for reassurances that this is the case across England and Wales.”