Mark Whitehead 05 January 2023

15 minutes not enough for dementia visits, ombudsman rules

15 minutes not enough for dementia visits, ombudsman rules image
Image: Halfpoint/Shutterstock.com

Warrington Council has accepted the findings of an ombudsman investigation which found that care workers repeatedly stayed for less than 15 minutes at the home of a patient with dementia.

In addition to the individual case, local government and social care ombudsman Michael King highlighted 313 adults in the borough receiving 15-minute visits ‘despite national guidance stressing these were not usually appropriate’.

He added: ‘When looking at visits which may require care workers to dress, wash or feed a person, 15 minutes is rarely enough.

‘We are increasingly looking at complaints from a human rights perspective - councils need to consider the rights of service users to have a private life when commissioning or delivering care.’

In a statement, the council said about 11% of its home-care packages for people in Warrington were 15-minute visits.

‘We have already undertaken reviews of people in receipt of 15-minute calls to ensure they are appropriate.

‘We are planning further work in the next two months which will include independent assessment of our work.’

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