Staffing key to dignity in care

Better paid and increased numbers of staff, better training and tougher penalties for failing agencies are crucial to improving care for older people, the Department of Health has been told.

Respondents to its Dignity in Care survey, launched last month, said personalised services promoted dignity if they were delivered by staff who had time to get to know users.

Dignity was compromised by frequent changes of staff and patronising attitudes to service users.

Summarising over 200 responses from professionals and members of the public, the DH said that “several people” had called for increased pay and more staff, while respondents also said that training should be better funded.

There was also support for more accessible complaints procedures and tougher penalties for, and naming and shaming of, agencies that compromised people’s dignity.

The DH said: “These and future recommendations will help to shape how care services are run in England.”