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PLEASE BE REASSURED CARERS AND FAMILES THAT CONTACT CARE CAMPAIGN FOR THE VULNERABLE HAVE BEEN/ARE BEING SUPPORTED AND WE ARE IN CONTACT WITH. ALL MESSAGES HERE HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND AUTHENTICATED AND CQC HAVE BEEN INFORMED AND RELEVANT AUTHORTIES HAVE BEEN CONTACTED

A OPEN LETTER TO OUR GOVERNMENT DURING THE COVID 19 CRISIS

''WE MUST PROTECT OUR MOST VULNERABLE AND DEDICATED CARE STAFF WHO LIVE AND WORK IN CARE ENVIRONMENTS''.

CARE CAMPAIGN FOR THE VULNERABLE APPEAL TO OUR GOVERNMENT TO ACT

This is an appeal on behalf of the 410,000 vulnerable adults resident in UK nursing or care homes to ask that you act to ensure they are protected from abuse.( Ref 1.)

In addition to the plethora of abuse reported in the media, independent research found abuse and neglect is present in 9 out of 10 of the UK’s 11,300 care and nursing homes. (Ref 2). If no action is taken, the government is knowingly allowing over 369,000 of our most vulnerable individuals to be currently, and repeatedly subjected to a life of abuse and neglect. This level of abuse or neglect would not be tolerated in any other setting, so Care Campaign for the Vulnerable and our 65,000 supporters including care professionals, appeal to you, our Government, to help prevent it happening in care homes. If the 83,616 prison inmates were being abused in 9 out of 10 of the 150 prisons, there would be an outcry. So why are we allowing it to happen to a population six times larger and sanction that living in prison is safer than living in residential care?

Safeguarding agencies, the CQC, CCG and LA safeguarding continuously and repeatedly fail to notice or act on abuse and complaints are met with threats to staff, residents and relatives alike. Made possible as UK law currently strips vulnerable adults in residential care of any protection or rights

With no access to human rights and denied residential rights, if the complaint can be evicted, and if they complain, can be banned. DoLS authorisations are made without follow up that the safeguards are observed.( Ref. 3. )

The care homes sector is worth around £15.9 billion a year in the UK. Yet, without legislation and stricter penalties, the risk of our most vulnerable treated as a mere business commodity has been repeatedly illustrated. Ethical norms become suspended when one group is given power over the lives of others without the risk of consequences, and as evidenced, the unacceptable becomes the norm. (Ref. 4. )

The risk to the vulnerable is now even more critical and CARE CAMPAIGN FOR THE VULNERABLE appeal to the Government to act immediately to put protective measures in all care and nursing homes.

Additionally, due to Coronavirus, the CQC has ceased its inspections, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman are not accepting new complaints, and worryingly against current government advise, it is being used as an excuse to ban anyone from visiting their loved ones.

The government has pledged £2.9bn to care for the most vulnerable; this must include those forgotten heroes with no voice. Ref.5

Please act now to insist care home residents have at least the same safety monitoring (CCTV) protection prisoners are afforded and legislate that CCTV is immediately required in all residential and nursing homes to ensure the vulnerable are treated with dignity and respect and our carers carry out their daily tasks also by being safeguarded/protected.

...''To do nothing is to betray the trust of 410,000 whose interests you, our Government have a duty to protect''.

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-homes-market-study-summary-of-final-report/care-homes-market-study-summary-of-final-report, state the care homes sector is worth around £15.9 billion a year to the UK economy, based on a commodity of around 410,000 residents.

2. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/03/21/abuse-neglect-present-nine-10-care-homes-survey-shows/

3. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200607/jtselect/jtrights/156/156i.pdf 239. The Minister accepted that people should be able to complain without retribution. Dealing with the issue of people being evicted because of making a complaint, he said: The commissioning relationship between a local authority and a home or, indeed, a PCT and a home should make that kind of thing impossible because if I was doing business with a private provider who behaved like that I would stop doing business with them.

4..https://www.carehomeprofessional.com/cqc-calls-for-open-culture-as-report-reveals-almost-1000-sexual-assault-allegations/?utm_source=Email+Campaign&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=42388-324613-Care+Home+Professional+DNA+-+2020-02-27

5. https://www.carehomeprofessional.com/breaking-news-government-pledges-2-9bn-to-vulnerable-in-covid-19-battle/?utm_source=Email+Campaign&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=42388-326336-Care+Home+Professional+DNA+-+2020-03-19

Thank you to all our dedicated care staff who support CCFTV, in protecting them and our vulnerable residents in care