News / Society

1 in 5 UK care homes fail standards: Report

Sunday, 08 February 2015 9:41 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 08 February 2015 9:41 AM ]

A report shows one in five care homes in England fail to meet national standards. (File photo)

A report says one in five care homes for the elderly in England fail to meet national standards for safety and care.

The study conducted by healthcare analysts LaingBuisson and published in British media on Sunday showed that 20 percent of 9,816 care homes investigated had failed to meet the primary quality measures.

Among the inadequate findings were cases of care homes being deemed unsafe, not caring enough or poorly managed.

The report presented examples of care homes where residents were given wrong medications by the care takers and other homes had insufficient or poorly trained staff.

According to the report, the findings meant 73,000 British elderly were living in care homes where service is deemed substandard.

Britain’s care watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) called the findings “disappointing,” with its deputy chief inspector for the northern region, Debbie Westhead, saying, “The primary responsibility for providing good care lies with the provider. They should know their shortfalls and put those right.”

The report comes just over a week after a separate study showed that spending on care for the elderly in Britain has plummet by 20 percent over the past decade from £1,188 per person in 2003-4 to £951 in 2013-14.

Official figures show that there are 420,000 people living in care and nursing homes across the UK, with nearly one million others getting help in their own home.

Political activist and commentator Chris Bambery recently told Press TV that the Tory-led coalition government’s spending cuts were to be blamed for the deteriorating situation of the aging population across the UK.

Bambery added that the situation for UK’s elderly would likely continue to worsen as the government is committed to its austerity measures.

The current UK government led by David Cameron launched austerity measures when it came to power in 2010 in a bid to tackle the country’s mounting debt and sluggish growth, but the policies have sparked public protests in recent years.

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