Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Tue Dec 17, 2013 4:46 pm
JerryChicken wrote:
It ain't necessarily so, this business covers both Dorset and Hampshire social services areas contracted out to do the work that both of those regions would probably have handled in-house.
Now imagine that you are a care worker, a home help or similar, working for those local authorities only to be told that you are now redundant and that you can re-apply to this "Care" company for a position there, it happened in Leeds also by the way, to a friend of mine, there was no transfer of employment as the new contractor stated that their own staff could cover the contract - then they recruited from the ex-council staff that had been made redundant.
You really don't have a choice as to whether you work for this particular employer or not, they are the ones doing all of the care work in your county, and the county next door, if you want to stay employed in the care industry and have a desire to actually CARE for your clients then you have to work for the new company.
Unless you understand how Home Help (for example) works then its probably difficult to understand the attitude that some of the employees have, they have a set routine and a set list of clients to visit, some of those dependent elderly and infirm may rely totally on their home help visit, for some it may be the only visit they get that week, for a few the home help is their only point of contact with the outside world and the only chance that some of them (for example) have to bathe that week - this is very basic stuff but vitally important for those "clients".
The last thing you want as a dependent is for your care worker to be limited to fifteen minutes per day and to arrive full of hell because they aren't being paid for the time to travel to you or for their petrol and vehicle costs, indeed they are having to pay to come and see you and the fact that you want a bath today and need helping in and out of it isn't going to make their mood any better when the 20 extra minutes they spend with you makes them late for their next client and is unpaid.
Quite frankly, its a disgrace and the sign of a society that doesn't give a fook about its elderly and infirm and anyone who is happy to go along with that deserves what is coming to them in the future.
Now imagine that you are a care worker, a home help or similar, working for those local authorities only to be told that you are now redundant and that you can re-apply to this "Care" company for a position there, it happened in Leeds also by the way, to a friend of mine, there was no transfer of employment as the new contractor stated that their own staff could cover the contract - then they recruited from the ex-council staff that had been made redundant.
You really don't have a choice as to whether you work for this particular employer or not, they are the ones doing all of the care work in your county, and the county next door, if you want to stay employed in the care industry and have a desire to actually CARE for your clients then you have to work for the new company.
Unless you understand how Home Help (for example) works then its probably difficult to understand the attitude that some of the employees have, they have a set routine and a set list of clients to visit, some of those dependent elderly and infirm may rely totally on their home help visit, for some it may be the only visit they get that week, for a few the home help is their only point of contact with the outside world and the only chance that some of them (for example) have to bathe that week - this is very basic stuff but vitally important for those "clients".
The last thing you want as a dependent is for your care worker to be limited to fifteen minutes per day and to arrive full of hell because they aren't being paid for the time to travel to you or for their petrol and vehicle costs, indeed they are having to pay to come and see you and the fact that you want a bath today and need helping in and out of it isn't going to make their mood any better when the 20 extra minutes they spend with you makes them late for their next client and is unpaid.
Quite frankly, its a disgrace and the sign of a society that doesn't give a fook about its elderly and infirm and anyone who is happy to go along with that deserves what is coming to them in the future.
Spot on!
My gran was receiving home care a few years ago. Provided by the Council but she still had to pay, and it was contracted to a private company. For starters it doesn't help when the private company was changed 4 times in a 6 year period. My gran was in her late 80's/early 90's and the last thing she wanted was a change in her provider it just added to the confusion/hassle that an older person doesn't want. Especially when the quality wasn't any better each time.
She had severe arthritis in her hands (she used to work as a seamstress) which made picking up and holding even basic items like a remote control or a plate of food very difficult. In addition she had arthritis in both knees and one was very stiff/virtually immobile from a car accident (and the shoddy treatment she received) 30 years previously, so she struggled to walk without a zimmerframe. Fortunately she didn't suffer from dementia or alzheimers or any other kind of disease of the mind.
She needed carers to help get her up in the morning and make her some breakfast, somebody to make her some lunch, and somebody to make her some dinner in the evening. Also these carers needed to help her take the myriad of pills she was prescribed. Because of her fragility, bathing wasn't an option.
She was given, IIRC, 30 mins on a morning, 15 mins at lunch and 20 mins in the evening.
The first problem was that the "morning" visit was at around 10:30. Despite usually waking up around 8/8:30. So a 2 hour wait until anyone was there to help her up (she usually got up by herself despite warnings not to) and until she could have breakfast. The "Lunch" visit was set at around 3:30pm. Obviously well after she wanted lunch. The "Dinner" visit was then at 5pm. Only an hour and a half after lunch. So she wasn't hungry. Also have you tried making someone a dinner in 20 minutes? It doesn't end well.
Then of course there was the problem of the carers coming in, rushing every job they had to do and leaving 5-10 mins early so as to get to the next person in time.
Added on to having different carers (ie could be anyone from the firm, not a set carer) it just led to my gran getting more and more frustrated by the carers instead of being helped by them.
I'm not blaming the actual carers, not at all. They're doing what their company working practices encourage them to do.
I blame the companies and the Council's for employing them to provide substandard care.
Unfortunately everything about it was just frustrating and confusing for my gran. From the hassle of getting the care in the first place to the constant changes and reviews to the actual poor standard of care, it just led to my gran getting annoyed and my mother (who was the one having to organise and respond to everything) becoming exhausted from it all.
