UPDATED: The Isle of Wight has been named the worst in the country for care and nursing services with 1 in 5 providers (21%) not making the grade, an interactive map and league table of care quality across England has revealed.
The top 3 counties for services including care and nursing homes and home care, are Herefordshire (97%), Warwickshire (94%) and Rutland (93%), whilst the lowest ranked counties are Oxfordshire (81%), West Yorkshire (81%) and the Isle of Wight (79%).
Derived from CQC’s inspections of care services, the data was analysed to produce a user friendly, county by county breakdown of local care quality. It is designed to help people looking for care and support to understand more about their often complex local care market.
The full league table and interactive map, showing all counties by ranking, launched to coincide with the surge in demand for care as we head into the winter months, is available at www.trustedcare.co.uk/care-map.
The data reveals that there are 13,209 providers still waiting to be inspected under the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) new inspection process launched in 2014. It also shows 4,326 services which have never been inspected by the CQC (17%).
Mark Walford, CEO and Founder of TrustedCare.co.uk commented:
“The data shows there isn’t a strong correlation between areas of affluence and local care quality as one might expect, despite a strong link to price of care. Instead, other factors such as local employment markets and local authority commissioning rates are sure to play into the mix.
“However, the CQC inspections provide only a snapshot of the service at a moment in time, therefore we appeal to those who are using or have used a care service, or their loved ones, to visit our website and share their experiences. This will help us to build a more detailed picture of the market and help guide those who are in the process of looking for care and support.”
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The CQC director of engagement Chris Day said:
“It’s important that people have access to information that helps them to choose the right care for them or for someone they love. CQC’s ratings of care services and our inspection reports should play a vital role in helping people to make that choice so we’re pleased that websites such as TrustedCare.co.uk are making sure more people have access to them.”
UPDATE @ 11:30 – Healthwatch IW have responded to today’s headline following the release of Trustedcare’s care map.
In a statement issued this morning, Healthwatch IW have said:
“The report recently published by Trusted care which Indicates that the Isle of Wight is ranked the worst in the country for care quality, mirrors our reflection that many vulnerable people on the Island are not receiving the care they need and deserve.
“We understand that care homes face enormous pressure with the reduction in funding available for adult social care, difficulties in recruiting staff and increasing complexity of needs of the people they care for, however as detailed in the report, the Isle of Wight has significantly poorer CQC inspection results than any other authority in the country. Our care sector has reached a crossroads and cannot be allowed to continue with business as usual.
“Healthwatch is aware that there are many homes on the Island that provide an excellent quality of care to the vulnerable adults they support, however there are also a growing number of homes who are providing unsafe and inadequate care. In this day and age, older people, who are among the most vulnerable in our society, should not be placed at risk, particularly in services commissioned by the Local authority.
“This is not acceptable.
“Although some of the most recent inspection reports have been negative, the positive aspects of care that exist have been highlighted within the reports. Some of the reports make comments such as ‘staff had received the necessary training’, ‘staff had a caring and respectful manner’ or ‘staff could not do more’. However, when coupled with the serious concerns that have also been highlighted, it is clear that the new inspection regime is achieving its goal of uncovering unsafe practices.
“Despite the fact that many homes have been praised for the care demonstrated by staff, good intentions and a caring approach does not ensure safe and effective care. The most recent Care Quality Commission reports have highlighted a series of shortcomings from several different providers and these cannot be allowed to continue.
“The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standards were introduced to drive up standards of care. They include the right for people to be treated with dignity and respect at all times while they are receiving care and treatment. And the right to have care or treatment that is tailored to them and meets their needs and preferences. These are basic rights that anyone should expect whilst needing care and support.
“The care and support of older people will affect us all either personally or through members of our family so it is vital that we get it right, first time, for everyone. This is nothing less than people deserve.
After consultation with the public in October, the Healthwatch Isle of Wight Board approved ‘Quality of care within residential care and nursing homes’ as a priority for 2015/16 and work has already begun to look at this in some detail.
The spokesperson added:
“We would urge that residents, family members, staff or members of the public contact them with feedback about residential care homes on the Isle of Wight, whether good or bad. We can then use this to support providers and commissioners to improve the services they provide”.
