North Yorkshire Home Care Team Supports Campaign against 15-Minute Care Visits

Tuesday, 08th October 2013

Published 08 October 2013.

A UK charity, Leonard Cheshire Disability, has recently published research into the prevalence of 15-minute care visits to elderly and disabled people in their own homes and the public’s views about this practice. The charity found that while more while some local authorities are now delivering more than 75% of their care in 15 minutes, the public was overwhelmingly against it.

Some of the key findings of the report were:

  • 60% of local authorities now commission 15-minute visits (based on 63 authorities able to provide data)
  • The proportion of visits which lasted 15 minutes or less has risen by 15% over the past five years
  • Some local authorities deliver more than three-quarters of their care visits in 15 minutes
  • 96% of those who expressed an opinion agree that disabled or older people have the right to receive social care visits that allow for enough time for care workers to give the appropriate support to do everyday things
  • Of those who expressed an opinion, 93% of people agree that a 15-minute visit is not long enough to support a disabled or older person to do everyday things like wash, dress and get out of bed in the morning

Oliver Stirk, Director of Carefound Home Care in North Yorkshire, commented: “It is of course common sense that appropriate support cannot be provided to an elderly person within 15 minutes. It is for this reason that we have a minimum visit length of one hour, and often support our clients for much longer periods of time. We also work directly with the families we support and do not enter into block contracts with local authorities. This not only ensures that our home carers provide care that is focused on the needs of each individual, but it also enables us to develop meaningful relationships and provide genuine companionship which is hugely important.”

Oliver added: “We support the efforts of Leonard Cheshire Disability to end 15-minute care visits. The way in which we commission health and social care services in the UK must adapt if we are to improve the care received by elderly people in the community – this may involve investing more in the short-term but will create much better outcomes in the future as hospital admissions are reduced and people avoid the move into 24-hour residential care for longer.”

Source: Leonard Cheshire Disability, Carefound Home Care.

About Carefound Home Care

Carefound Home Care is a provider of specialist home care and dementia care services to elderly people in North Yorkshire, enabling clients to continue to live independently in the comfort of their own home whilst maintaining the highest quality of life achievable. Services provided include basic help in the home, companionship, personal care, medication help, post-operative rehabilitation, respite careand specialist help such as dementia care and palliative care. The flexible service is available from 1 hour to 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, including a specialist live-in care option.

Tel: 01423 774070 | Web: www.carefound.co.uk | Email: enquiries@carefound.co.uk