Today’s announcement from the Care Quality Commission that hidden cameras and mystery shoppers may be used for care home inspections masks the wider issue of underfunding in social care, warned UNISON, the UK’s largest health union.
Heather Wakefield, UNISON’s Head of Local Government, said:
“It’s no good talking about gimmicks like secret cameras when the main issue, which is the massive under funding of social care, is staring us in the face.
“A catastrophic combination of cuts, privatisation and under funding of contracts is leading to a significant deterioration of services.”
The government has consistently cut budgets to social care at the same time that demand is rising due to the ageing population.
Ms Wakefield added:
“Privatising services means public money is leaking out of the system and into huge salaries for executives.
“As long as care workers are on bargain basement pay and employers do not have adequate funding, there will continue to be problems even when our members go the extra mile. If it was not for the good will of underpaid, mainly women workers, giving their own time and working longer hours for no pay, the industry would be in disarray.”
UNISON has reiterated its call for a properly funded National Care Service, directly funded through taxation in the same way as the NHS.