‘Emergency teams hit by daytime bias’

Emergency duty teams should be judged against national standards,
according to the chair of the Emergency Social Services Association
(Essa).

Glen Williams said emergency services varied widely throughout the
country, with some councils offering round-the-clock provision and
others a more limited service.

Williams said the absence of national standards reflected a bias
towards daytime services in government policy, even though
emergency teams covered three-quarters of the working week.

He said: “We remain out of sight and out of mind. Almost
overwhelmingly the policies are written with a daytime mentality in
mind.”
Essa, which represents about 100 councils, was prepared to draw up
a set of standards which could be used by the Commission for Social
Care Inspection, Williams added.

At its annual conference last month, the association resolved to
raise its profile.

One of the ways it planned to do this was to respond to government
consultations and work more closely with the Association of
Directors of Social Services.