Policy Focus: Care training must include human rights

Protecting the most vulnerable from abuse, neglect and undignified treatment has not always been the priority of care providers. Winterbourne View, Operation Jasmine and the harrowing story of Gloria Foster are all recent examples, and there are many more, of how the human rights of those receiving care have been breached.

The Human Rights Act 1998 states that “It is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right.” Simply put, this means that those who work for a public authority are under a legal duty to respect, protect and fulfill certain human rights. However not all social care users are currently protected by this provision including people who receive their care in a residential care home but pay for it themselves and people who receive their care at home by an independent provider. This means that if an individual’s rights have been infringed, it can be almost impossible for them to seek redress under the Human Rights Act. It also means that Human Rights are not placed at the centre of the training and professional standards of some care workers. This lack of training is often a cause of neglect in social care.

We believe that the Care Bill must be amended to give care recipients direct access to human rights protection regardless of who is providing their care or where it is provided. This can be achieved by clarifying that all those providing regulated care services fall under the definition of ‘public authority’. Under section 6 of the Human Rights Act this would mean that they are legally responsible for protecting and maintaining the human rights of those in their charge.

We fully accept that bringing all regulated social care services within the scope of section 6 of the Human Rights Act will not alone solve the problems of poor care and human rights abuses but maintaining the status quo is not acceptable. This amendment offers a simple, effective and lasting solution to this long-standing problem. The Government must not deny those that depend on social care this protection.

Join the debate at the PoliticsHome Policy Focus on the Care Bill here