Press release: Crisis in Social Care in Nottinghamshire

PRESS RELEASE
FROM: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE UNISON
TO: ALL LOCAL MEDIA
DATE:30th August 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE USE

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Crisis in Social Care in Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire UNISON today called on the County Council to act to stop the decline in services to the elderly and the vulnerable in the County as a result of the Council’s budget crisis.

Following the statement by Notts Coroner, Dr Nigel Chapman, about the risks of untrained carers assisting with medication, officers of Nottinghamshire UNISON (the biggest union at the County Council) told how they regularly get phone calls from members with horror stories of neglect after services have moved from the Council to private sector providers following the budget cuts announced earlier this year.

“Our members are telling us about instances where the private Care Worker fails to show up, where the elderly lie in faeces and urine or where they miss more than one daily meal. This is not an acceptable way to treat the elderly and the most vulnerable in our community” said Grace Perry, UNISON’s Joint Social Services Convenor.

“UNISON is warning the Council that they need to address how the private companies they employ operate. We are worried that if they do not stop privatising Social Care in this County there will be deaths, misery, despair, loneliness, hospitalisation, disease, etc.” she added. “UNISON is clear that the money for public services should be spent on those services, not have a percentage raked off to pay the shareholders of the private companies that then fail to deliver what they have promised. UNISON has long campaigned against the argument that private companies can provide high quality services at a much cheaper cost than the public sector. The comment from a private sector company based in Mapperly that they need more money to pay for training (NEP 29th August 2006) highlights what happens if the private sector goes for the lowest possible tender to win a contract. If they don’t include enough money for training in their bid, then they can’t provide training for their staff, and the public suffer.”

Ms Perry went on to call for Public Services to be properly funded. “Some people think that their Council Tax is too high. If you want decent public services delivered by properly trained people on a decent wage, we all need to start paying for them. Is it too much to ask that we all pay to protect and support the elderly population of Nottinghamshire? After all it will be us one day. We should be ashamed of ourselves if we just sit back while our parents and grandparents suffer. They deserve high quality public services delivered by highly professional staff. They deserve staff who are:

• Fully trained or are being trained.
• Experienced
• Professional
• Checked by the Criminal Records Bureau
• Employed after being interviewed, with references required
• Trained in Health and Safety Practices, given full training to understand equipment, disease, infection.
• Paid to National Standards
• Required to follow strict codes of practice, discipline, responsibility.

Is that too much to ask for your parents and grandparents?”

UNISON has launched a petition against the cuts in Home Care, Day Care and Meals on Wheels, and is asking the public to sign up to protest to Councillors. “We launched the petition on our stall at the Riverside Festival in Nottingham and had dozens of people sign up. We want the people of Notts to join us in opposing these cuts. Copies of the petition can be obtained from Nottinghamshire UNISON” said Ms Perry.

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Further Info:

Contacts via Branch office on 0115 9810405:

Grace Perry, Joint Convenor Social Services (mob: 07894886274)
Linda Davy, Senior Steward for Home Care (mob: 07841270802)
Peter Thorpe, Branch Chair

Copies of the petition can be obtained by:

• downloading from: www.nottsunison.org.uk
• ringing: 0115 9810405
• e-mailing: branch.office@nottsunison.org.uk
• writing to us: 39 Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7LJ