9 April 2009
                                                                      
Panorama special report 

The English Community Care Association (ECCA), the leading representative body for independent care providers, has identified what it considers to be some of the major issues to come out of the Panorama programme on domiciliary care services. 

Martin Green, Chief Executive of ECCA, says:
“This report identifies a number of failings within the system and it is important that we get to the underlying causes of why the system has failed to deliver the highest quality care to vulnerable people.  The Government’s policy of keeping more people in the community must be underpinned by an understanding that this is not a cheap option.  If it is done properly it requires a radical review of how services are commissioned.  We need to see minimum time slots – no local authority should be commissioning 15 minute care interventions.”

Martin Green continues:
“We urge the Government to come together with service providers to put aside the issue of private versus public provision and to begin a dialogue which understands that building high quality community services requires resources and all our energies devoted to high quality outcomes for service users”.   

Ends Notes to Editors: 

ECCA works to ensure that care services are commissioned fairly, efficiently and on a properly funded basis, to meet the true costs of providing appropriate care
  

Contact ECCA press on 020 7492 4844 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it