UK Standards for Elderly Home Care Infringe "Most Basic Human Rights"

In the UK the standards of home care for the elderly have become so poor that some older people are regularly left in bed for 17 hours while others are at risk of malnutrition.

Home visits to the elderly by their carers are notoriously short and infrequent, leaving little time to perform even the most necessary tasks. This has resulted in carers often having to choose between dressing or feeding the elderly person and also means that people are often left in bed for long periods of time.

The report was written from research conducted by a government funded human rights watchdog. It claims that the situation is so bad that it is threatening the basic human rights of people who deserve to be cared for properly in their own homes. Often, elderly people are prematurely admitted to hospital or care homes.

Neil Crowther, director of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which conducted the research, said: "The level of care is beginning to put these very, very basic rights at risk."

Mr Crowther added that the rights being infringed by this situation were the basic right to life, and "the right to live free of inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to a family life."

These initial findings form part of a major enquiry into home care in England, due to be published in November.

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