People who are cared for in their home will receive a higher quality of care from better skilled and more competent staff, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) said today following the announcement that home care workers will start to register with the regulator from 2010.
The announcement was made as part of the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy published by the Department of Health. The requirements for registration, such as training, will be consulted on later in the year.
Over 300,000 people receive some form of home care, and the majority of these are aged 65 or over. A recent opinion poll conducted by the GSCC found that public support for registration is as high for homecare workers as it is for nurses. The proportion of those who said each job should ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ be registered was 97%.” Most people (78%) thought that they were already regulated.
Registration will mean that the GSCC can ensure only suitable people enter the workforce and that they receive appropriate levels of training, by putting in place a register and checking all applications to this. The GSCC will also be able to take action against individuals whose practice presents a risk to the public.
Rosie Varley, Chair of the GSCC, said: “Hundreds of thousands of people receive care in their home and this is set to increase in line with the numbers of people living longer. It is absolutely crucial therefore that they can be confident that the person who provides their care is skilled, competent and can be trusted.
As shown in our poll, most people think these workers are already checked and monitored by a regulator, given the personal, and often intimate, care these workers deliver. Such care requires people who are vetted and trained and this will be a condition of registration with the GSCC.
We are pleased that the government has set out a timetable for registration and look forward to working with everyone in the sector to get the mechanisms right so that registration achieves its objective of raising standards, protecting service users, and increasing confidence among the growing number of people who use these services. We are however disappointed that similar clarity does not exist for the regulation of residential care workers, particularly given the concerns raised earlier this week about looked-after children. Those living in residential homes deserve the same quality of care and peace of mind as any other person who receives social care.”
Media contact details:
Liz Hutchinson 020 7397 5832 (07876 440838 – out of office hours)