Local Healthwatch raise concerns about home care in Torbay

According to the UK Home Care Association, almost 900,000 people use services to help them live independently at home in the UK. People who receive care at home should expect to feel in control and their privacy and dignity respected. However, for many people this isn’t always the case.

Yesterday, Healthwatch Torbay published a report on the failings of one home care provider. We spoke to Dr Kevin Dixon, Chair of Healthwatch Torbay to find out more:

People felt anxious and unhappy about their home care

We started to receive a number of complaints from the public about a company who provide home care services to people.

In our investigation, people who used the home care service told us that the provider was not adequately meeting their expectations. This was also confirmed by family and staff members.

Poor care and support

People who received home care support from the company told us about some of the negative experiences that affected their care, including:

• Over 87% of people we spoke to did not feel listened to. Requests were often ignored leading to stress for the patient, their family and care workers who were left feeling demotivated and guilty.

• People didn’t know who would visit them or at what time, leaving them feeling vulnerable.

• Care workers felt rushed and were not always given the right information, which meant they had insufficient knowledge of patient needs.

• Inexperienced and poorly trained care workers were unable to do basic tasks, for example, using a microwave or making a bed.

• Not knowing how or when to administer medication meant care workers couldn’t meet people’s needs safely.