The number of councils commissioning 15-minute home care visits has risen in the past year, prompting fears of ‘dangerously low levels of care’ being offered to vulnerable people.
Trade union Unison warned such short appointments compromise the care of elderly residents and puts unfair pressure on home care workers.
Freedom of Information requests sent by the union and answered by 98% of councils in the country, revealed 74% of authorities still commission 15-minute visits compared to 69% in the same survey last year.
This increase came despite a commitment from the Government to clamp down on rushed home care.
The study revealed 110 councils commission 15-minute visits, on average 14% of all home calls.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: ‘It is a scandal that 15-minute visits are on the rise despite assurances from the government that it would crack down on rushed visits.
‘What we are seeing is the institutionalisation of dangerously low levels of care which compromises the dignity of the elderly and vulnerable people in our community who rely on this care, and places unfair pressures on homecare workers.
‘The Government is cutting council budgets by 40% while the need for care continues to rise. This forces councils to spread the care budget thinner and thinner trying to make it go round.
‘This symbolises all that is wrong with our increasingly undignified and underfunded care system.’
Unison says care minister Norman Lamb made a clear statement last year that 15 minutes was not enough time for a home care visit and pledged that the Care Quality Commission would investigate.
