9:11am Friday 10th July 2009
By Claire Lomax
Union chiefs are calling on Bradford Council to take back ‘in-house’ the management of learning disability social work following concerns about standards at a care home.
Weaver Court in Idle slipped to a zero star rating after independent watchdog the Care Quality Comm-ission (CQC) found it was offering a poor service to its 19 residents.
A joint investigation into the death of a resident in November is being undertaken by Bradford District Care Trust, which runs the home, and Bradford Teach-ing Hospitals NHS Founda-tion Trust, due to the involvement of Bradford Royal Infirmary in the person’s care.
But Unison, the public sector union, has called for an independent inquiry to take place, and has now taken the step of calling for the Council to back the management of learning disability social work and the review team from Bradford District Care Trust.
Unison regional officer Steve Torrance said: “We believe events such as the zero rating and concerns into recent deaths have shown that the statutory duties and safeguarding role of social workers and reviewing officers has been compromised.”
He said questions must be asked about what checks and measures were in place in the light of some of the findings of the CQC, which included residents in their 70s and 80s being placed in Weaver Court when the home was only registered to care for people up to 65.
Guy Van Dichele, assistant director in adult and community services at Bradford Council, said: “We recognise a new approach is needed to the way services are commissioned and provided to make sure all people with a learning disability have greater choice, freedom and control over their lives.
“The Council and Care Trust have agreed to the separation of the commissioning and provider functions and this has been in place since April this year.
“We continue with our plans to transfer some services to alternative providers in order to provide the services people with learning disabilities and their carers say they want.”
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