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PUBLIC ENQUIRIES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESPONSE TO CCFTV asking when the Government look at safety monitoring in all care homes. Rory Howard Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries Department of Health

Poor care, abuse and neglect are completely unacceptable. Everyone should receive high-quality care, delivered by well-trained, properly managed and compassionate staff.

The use of CCTV and other forms of covert surveillance should not be routine but should be considered on a case-by-case basis. The use of CCTV in individual care homes or by the families of residents should be in consultation with, and with the permission of, those residents and families.

The Department of Health introduced a ‘fit and proper person’ test in April 2015. The test was introduced to enable directors of care providers to be held accountable for unacceptable care standards. Where a director is deemed not to be fit to run a provider by the CQC, it will be able to insist on his or her removal.

Following the publication of Sir Robert Francis’s report on the failings of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, Camilla Cavendish was asked to review the roles of healthcare assistants and support workers in NHS and social care settings. She proposed introducing a ‘Certificate of Fundamental Care’, now known as the Care Certificate, which helps to ensure that healthcare assistants, social care support workers, and their employers can deliver a consistently high-quality standard of care.

Health Education England, Skills for Care and Skills for Health launched the pilot for the new Care Certificate on 28 April 2014. The pilot took place across a range of health and social care settings and tested a set of standards to help employers to assess not only workers’ skills but also the knowledge, behaviours and values that are required to deliver compassionate and quality care. The Care Certificate was launched in April 2015 and applies to all new staff in health and adult social care.

CARE CAMPAIGN FOR THE VULNERABLE

Shaun A A Byrne (Supporter to CCFTV)

''Care homes should install these regardless for the safety of everyone that lives there and works there, if you're a great carer you should not be worried or have anything to hide ...don't give up.''

J Emma Phillips (Supporter)

''Do these people actually get out to see all the day to day running of homes. Have they ever removed themselves from their desks + seen all their 'rules' + lovely cuddly guidelines breached daily. If a carer has come from a personal family environment that isn't very caring, that is the first red flag. Caring should be graded, not just DBS clear''.


Eileen Herbert (Supporter)

''What they're basically saying is they'll act AFTER the event if anyone's found to be at fault and then only if they are 'lucky enough to find out. Typical politicians for not taking responsibility''

J Emma Phillips (Supporter)

''It makes me so cross. It's a load of ... I get so frustrated, it's not rocket science is it?''

Ray Ann Lewis

''They never reply with a straight answer. I wrote to the Health minister about my mum's care in 2013 the reply I got was that he couldn't comment on an individual case. My local MP was more helpful, she said she would talk about the disgraceful care my other received''.


Ellen Jones

''I wish they would take the time to read things properly and understand the concerns and requests they have been petitioned for. I understand that pilot schemes have been launched and that there is a code of conduct in place but, the neglect and bad practice in many care homes taking PLACE NOW and the heartbreaking thing is that the people who have to tolerate this, have in effect no voice, they are vulnerable and so easily dismissed by those who do not want to deal with the complicated and difficult consequences. It's so evident all the things that are put in place are just not working''.

Jules Tarling

''I am a social care support worker and have been working in the NHS for 15 years with adult mental health in the community.
I've not got a certificate to prove I am fit and proper''·

Samantha Vasiliou

''Basically NO then really. The PM probably hasn't even seen this - it's a joke how the system works. Families should have CCTV fitted any way nowadays it can be transmitted to your mobile wherever you are so I think it's one for the families to monitor that way it's not an expense the home have to run''.

Alan Ashton

''Typical politicians flannel, avoid the issues raised. A CCTV system works in two ways by protecting the vulnerable residents but also protecting the staff against false allegations. Our political elite all seem to be so far removed from the daily problems in care homes it makes you wonder where their parents and elderly relatives are''

Lynne Neale

''What a load of rubbish. Talk about seen to be done this is typical blar blar we're not prepared to do anything rot that comes out of most of our MP's mouths. I was under the impression that we put these people there to do what we want. They choose to miss the point because it means they might just have to do something about it. It's crushing to see how little they actually do care and very sad. I always think what if it were your parent/grandparent. They are very good at turning a blind eye to Joe public''

CDM

''With this sort of reply, it gives no confidence that our loved ones will ever be protected against abuse, neglect and much worse. But it doesn't surprise me. I have a whole heap of similar replies from when my own mother received poor care. Shocking to think our Government do not want to be seen protecting our most vulnerable''.

Karen Domone

''I completed my "care certificate" which I was informed I HAD TO DO ...just as I was leaving the employer they would not sign it off despite it being finished. Anyway, i have 28 years of experience in care and was still made to do the certificate as an update. I have since then worked for 2 employers who have REFUSED to entertain, look at or sign the whole folder off and the reason for this??? Because it's not, according to them, both a mandatory requirement and they had been advised by the CQC their induction training was sufficient!! I have yet to find a company that acknowledges the need for the certificate much less implement it. You can view mine fully completed that no one is interested in at all. And with all due respect, the writing and language required is well above some standards held by people in the care sector. This certificate as I am sure you are aware costs NOTHING it can be printed off and the foreword from the CQC states exactly as per your letter from the MP but most companies do not/will not offer it. Lack of knowledge and the law are two of the main causes but not alone in why care standards are so damn poor.''

Amelia Sutton

'' I'm sorry but I think it's disgusting and is completely ignoring the point about abuse. CCTV can't be on a random basis. i am sickened by this entire deliberate miss of the point!!! It's basically throwing back all efforts made to ensure abuse is stopped in all nursing and care homes. It's no good having CCTV on a case by case basis for God's sake. This is going back to the Dark Ages. They simply don't care about the welfare of the elderly and that makes me sick and fume!! A big slap in the face here by the system''.

Kate L

''Applies to all new staff - what about the old or currently employed. So this new "Care Certificate" doesn't apply to them and therefore invalidates every avoidance tactic word that Rory Howard has dictated to his secretary.
We want CCTV in these institutions that promise to care for our loved ones, but employ staff who are apparently 'immune' to their new "Care Certificates"!
If you're genuinely, respectfully and compassionately caring for a person, it shouldn't be an issue to have SAFETY CAMERAS in communal areas!
Following my experiences with these people, I'd insist on CCTV in the bedroom for my and my loved one's peace of mind!''