Why Is The UK Government Delaying Care Home Regulation?

The UK Government has recently published proposals for a voluntary register of Health Care Support Workers. However this voluntary system has been criticised by many as being inadequate.

The most recent Public organisation to do so is the Royal College of Nursing who called the Government scheme 'fundamentally weak'. In addition it said the Government should do much more to ensure that Health Care Support Workers are properly supervised monitored and trained. Crucially this needed to be done by a legally backed rather than a voluntary scheme.

Why Does Regulation Need to be By Law?

The RCN Chief Executive Dr Peter Carter said that too often the training of health care support workers was minimal. It was absolutely vital for patients and also employers to have complete confidence that the carers involved with them were meeting an acceptable level of standards wherever they work.

The problem with a voluntary system was that it would not solve the problem of poor standards and performance but simply allow the mushrooming of varied registers and standards with no one body underpinning their regulation or adequacy. This was almost inevitably going to cause situations where even with the best will in the world from employers and employees there would be people who would slip through the net.

Another benefit of a compulsory system is that health care workers themselves would feel more reassured. Also this would add to their professional development and enhance their status.

Will the Government listen to Health Care professionals?

The Government has a very bad record in doing so. The recent reforms of the National Health Service were pushed through despite almost total opposition from Doctors, Nurses and allied health professions. They appear to have complete faith in allowing the market to find solutions to such problems. It is notable that Health Minister responsible Earl Howe has simply commented that the Government has an 'open mind' and will respond to the recommendations of the Francis report into the care provided by the Mid Staffordshire Healthcare Trust.This does not give a ringing endorsement to the scheme that is proposed by the Royal College of Nursing

It is to be hoped for the sake of carers and cared for that the Government listens to the calls for regulation of Care Workers by people who are aware of what is required and not leave them vulnerable to market forces which have certainly not delivered the necessary standards to date -and costs pressures suggest that things will not get any better in the immediate future.

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