Commissioning Is Crucial If Dementia Strategy Is To Deliver, UK

Tackling poor commissioning practice is the key message for dignified and safe dementia care, according to the homecare sector's professional association, UKHCA, on publication of the National Dementia Strategy today.


Good commissioning recognises that extra homecare time and sufficient flexibility is needed for people with dementia - to express their needs and choices, to build confidence and trust and to ensure careworkers can support daily activities safely and with dignity.


Colin Angel, Head of Policy and Communication at UKHCA said:


"While there is much to welcome in the strategy, we see an increasing number of local authorities attempting cost saving measures that limit time careworkers can spend with service users. Councils are effectively shoehorning homecare into very sort periods, sometimes fifteen minutes or fewer."


"But people with dementia must not be rushed. We need to see government being much more robust about stamping out such poor commissioning practice at a local level, otherwise the Strategy will never deliver its national ambitions."


Homecare is probably the single most important professional service involved in supporting the two out of three people affected by dementia that live at home. The independent sector delivers nearly 80% of all publicly funded homecare and is seen as a key partner in the strategy.


Lucianne Sawyer CBE, President of UKHCA, who was a member of the Quality section of the Reference Group which developed the recommendations for the new strategy, and channelled homecare providers' views into the strategy continued:


"Continuity of care staff is very important to someone with dementia, and we expect so see the emphasis on development of a well trained, appropriately vetted and rewarded workforce to provide quality dementia care. We very much hope the government's faith in local commissioners doing the right thing is not misplaced, but it also needs to do more to address pay in social care nationally by monitoring how commissioners behave at local level, for example whether they pay a fair price for care or make training funding available to the independent sector."


She concluded:


"Ultimately this strategy should help bring dementia out of the shadows and put people with dementia centre stage. The homecare sector has a crucial role in delivering care and support for the many individuals with dementia who want to continue to live as active and independent life as possible in their own homes."


Notes


1. The United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) is the professional association for more than 1,600 domiciliary care providers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The mission of UKHCA is to represent its members and to promote and support the sustainable provision of high standard homecare.


2. UKHCA represents 33% of independent and voluntary sector providers across the UK. Its member organisations are estimated to provide 1.7 million hours of care each week, valued at ??1.08 billion per year, and delivered to 115,000 service users at any one time.















3. UKHCA has a vetting procedure for its members, all of whom agree to abide by the Association's Code of Practice, which can be found here.


4. Homecare is the provision of personal social care services to people in their own homes. For many, homecare is the alternative of choice for people who would otherwise need to move into residential accommodation.


5. The majority of homecare is funded by the state (usually by local council social services departments or through a Primary Care Trust), but are largely delivered by independent and voluntary sector providers. In England 78% of publicly funded homecare is now provided by the independent sector, compared to 5% in 1993.


6. Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, launched the National Dementia Strategy in a statement to parliament on 3 February 2009. The Strategy can be found here.


7. UKHCA has developed a Dementia Training Pack that provides a means to train care workers about the effect dementia can have on the person, the family and those around them. It guides the instructor to train care staff either on a one to one basis, in small discussion groups or within a whole day's workshop. More from
here.


8. High resolution royalty-free images are available for Colin Angel, who is quoted in this release: ukhca/images/highres/colinangelhires1.jpg

UKHCA