Pace of registration for staff under fire

Elder abuse campaigners and politicians have hit out at the General
Social Care Council’s recommendation not to fast-track domiciliary
care workers on to the social care register.

A consultation paper published this week by the GSCC proposes
registering social care managers next. This is despite an inquiry
by the House of Commons’ health select committee into elder abuse
earlier in the year calling for domiciliary care workers to be
registered as a priority.

Gary Fitzgerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse, said:
“Domiciliary care workers should be registered next because they
are so isolated and have been subject to the least attention in the
past 10 years and this does not seem to have been taken on board by
the GSCC.”

Liberal Democrat older people spokesperson Sandra Gidley said it
was disappointing domiciliary care seemed to be slipping down the
agenda.

The GSCC said domiciliary workers would be in the second tranche of
groups to be registered.

– The deadline for consultation is 8 November 2004. Go to www.gscc.org.uk