In response to the investigation reported in the Independent newspaper on 18 April 2012 that hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled people face cuts to their support and assistance this year as councils struggle to find new savings of £1bn from social-care budgets, Jeff Skipp, the chief executive of About Me and Deafblind UK said: “The financial crisis in social care has been building over the past few years.
“A combination of zero or below inflationary fee increases to providers and fixed rate contract sums in some local authority areas with hourly rates as low as £11.80 has lead many organisations that bid for contracts at this rate to focus on large volumes, offer pay rates at national minimum wage levels and provide training only to the level that meets CQC registration.
“As a consequence we end up with a high percentage of low paid and undervalued workforce in social care. These financial pressures have also led to the commissioning of 15 minute visits where older customers have had to choose between having a meal or being toileted – this is hardly the vision of dignified care enabling older people to live valued lifestyles in their own homes.”
o About Me Care and Support and About Me Brokerage are two new social enterprises and wholly owned subsidiaries of Deafblind UK launched to deliver a new level of personalised care and support for people with single or dual sensory impairments and disabilities.
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