Carers must be tested to make sure they speak English to prevent abuse in people’s homes, says No.10 adviser

Care workers should face English tests to prevent abuse, a Downing Street adviser has said.

Dr Shereen Hussein warned that language barriers could lead to poor care, with migrants working as carers also at risk from abuse from patients.

In some parts of the UK around half of care workers are thought to be foreign nationals.

Dr Hussein, a researcher at King’s College London and adviser to the Department of Health, said recent changes in immigration had altered the profile of foreign migrants who work in the UK as carers.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live that people from outside the EU have long worked in the UK’s care sector and have had to prove their competence in English before getting a job, but that this had changed with new arrivals from EU countries.
 
Dr Hussein said: ‘Migrants from outside the European Union have a long history of working in the UK’s care sector, and have always had to prove their efficiency in the English language before securing jobs in the industry, but this is not the case with new arrivals from EU countries.

‘This means new migrants can be vulnerable when they’re placed in people’s homes – and carers have reported instances of racism and discrimination that stem from communication problems.’

She added: ‘It would be really beneficial to have a standard interview process to establish English language proficiency, communication skills and softer skills of all care workers aiming to work in the sector.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the Commons that he wanted to make sure people in the care system are properly trained

‘At the moment, vulnerable workers are placed in the homes of vulnerable adults with complex needs, and sometimes communication problems can result in bad treatment for both parties.’

Dr Hussein called for care agencies to be required to prove their staff can speak a level of English that is adequate for their job, rather than the responsibility falling on the workers themselves.

She said a standardised interview would help care agencies identify where training is needed before staff are deployed to help vulnerable people.

A new ‘care certificate’ was announced last year in an attempt to drive up standards in the wake of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust scandal.

The care certificate will give employers and patients proof that healthcare assistants and social care support workers have been trained to a specific set of standards and have the skills, knowledge and behaviours to ensure that they can provide high quality care and support, health minister Lord Howe said.

In the Commons today, David Cameron said the government was doing more to improve the quality of care.

He was challenged over the ‘scandal’ of 15-minute visits, in which carers rush in and out of homes without spending time with patients.

The Prime Minister told MPs: ‘The 15-minute working times is an issue for local councils. My local council has just decided to stop these 15-minute visits because it does not believe people can really get any meaningful work done, but this is a matter for councils. We are the first Government to have a proper review on zero-hours contracts.

‘We are very unhappy about those with exclusivity clauses that do not allow people to work elsewhere.

‘As important as those things are, it is as important to make sure that our care system has got people inside it who are really caring and understanding about the problems of dementia.’

Source Mail Online