Research by carehome.co.uk has revealed that more than three quarters (81 per cent) of the 74,000 reviews of UK care homes on the site have a top rating (five) for residents being ‘treated with dignity’.
The data follows the Care Quality Commission (CQC) highlighting a clear link between a provider’s quality of care and how well it treats its staff and residents in terms of human rights.
Paul Corrigan, CQC non-executive director and board equality and human rights champion, says: “There’s a clear link between the quality of care a service provides, and whether the people who use it and its staff feel that their human rights are respected and they are treated equally.
“And equality and human rights will only become more important over time because of demographic and system change; research shows that money spent on reducing health inequalities is the most efficient way of improving health outcomes for a local population.”
Earlier this year, Andrea Sutcliffe, the CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care gave her advice at the launch of its national report into the sector, on what to look out for when choosing a care home. She said: “I would look out for – what do the relationships between the staff and the residents look like, how does that feel? And are people being treated with dignity and respect, do you get the sense that [the care home] is a community, not a service?”
Davina Ludlow, chair of carehome.co.uk, says: “In the CQC’s resource ‘Equally Outstanding’, which it has developed to promote equality and human rights and show best practice, it praised Shadon House in Gateshead, a care home run by Gateshead Council. However, it’s clear from the reviews we receive on a daily basis, that there are many care homes that are providing high quality care to residents – this is incredibly reassuring and exactly as it should be.
“On our reviews site for care homes, ‘dignity and respect’ has always been one of the key categories for friends, family members and loved ones to rate services by. Giving residents dignity through compassionate care, and enabling them to have as much independence as possible, makes them feel valued and is vital to their wellbeing. It is good to see this is a priority in so many care homes."
