Dementia expert backs 'Delivering Dignity' human rights bid (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Dementia expert backs 'Delivering Dignity' human rights bid

7:00am Tuesday 19th June 2012 in News By Daryl Ames

A dementia expert has welcomed the latest report into care of the elderly and protecting their human rights.

Paul Edwards, head of training and practice development and a senior lecturer with the Bradford Dementia Group at Bradford University, said that the report, Delivering Dignity, was a “step forward, but it is not new”.

The report, released yesterday was produced by the Commission on Improving Dignity in Care for Older People, an independent group set up by the NHS Confeder-ation, Age UK and the Local Government Association.

It has called for human rights legislation for all those receiving care, and not just those whose care home place is arranged by their local authority.

Mr Edwards said: “The idea of human rights legislation being part of the backdrop of how carers deliver is something we have been arguing for for a long time.

“I think we as a society have to decide what we are going to spend our money on. That’s the big issue, and I have not got a strong sense of how funding is going to look over the next 20 years and the population is going to increase.

“We need very clear outcomes and expectations of what services should be provided and this report puts more pressure on providers to address their issues of culture change.”

Dr Chai Patel, chairman of HC-One – the UK’s third-largest care home operator – has welcomed the report.

HC-One runs 241 care homes for older people across the UK, including 17 across Yorkshire.

He said: “HC-One firmly backs the need for a major culture shift in care, supported by increased Government funding, to ensure that older people across the UK are always treated with dignity and respect.”