England's elderly face unfair and 'improper' care assessments, says Human Rights Watch

Unfair and ‘’improper” care assessments are stripping England’s older people of their dignity and independence, according to Human Rights Watch.

People aged 58 to 94, interviewed by the human rights body in towns and cities across England, have said they are being denied crucial help such as home care support to wash and dress, by care assessors who are conducting unfair care assessments.

“Older people don’t always get fair assessments of the support they need to live dignified, independent lives,” said Bethany Brown, researcher on older people’s rights at Human Rights Watch.

A report by Humans Rights Watch, based on interviews conducted over two years with 104 older people and family carers, reveals some people have either been denied care services or had their care significantly cut.

Care assessor 'fell asleep three times'

Human Rights Watch stated: ‘This report documents improper assessments for individual older people’s social care in England, and the lack of oversight from the national government, which is responsible for implementation of the Care Act [2014].’

Eighty-year-old ‘Farhaz’ has vascular dementia. He has hallucinations, must be watched all the time and had to be stopped from eating a tub of nappy rash cream.

Farhaz's son ‘Mohammed’ told Human Rights Watch, “[The assessor] was late, and she fell asleep three times” but Mohammed said nothing because ‘I was fearful she would say no [to continuing the services]’.

His father’s needs were described by the assessor as ‘non-intense, non-complex, routine and predictable’. With support from Age UK, Mohammed asked for a copy of the draft assessment before it was finalized and requested a reassessment by another assessor. After the reassessment, Farhaz was found to qualify for more support with specialised services from NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Some of those interviewed, said care assessors did not understand their disabilities and support needs and sometimes assessors would announce a cut in services before even starting their assessment, regardless of the person’s need.

Assessor falsely reported woman carried a heavy tray

Mary Redman aged 76, told Human Rights Watch: “[They] just came in with an agenda of cutting my 15 hours per week to 6.5. They announced it. They told me ‘We are not there to give you more, but we are going to cut it.’ They had worked out that that was what I needed [before they arrived].”

Although Ms Redman has difficulty gripping and has used a walker for many years, an assessor cut her services and falsely reported that she had carried a heavy tray across her kitchen during the assessor’s visit.

Ms Redman said: “I can’t grip, and it’s painful, also in my spine and feet."

She successfully managed to challenge the assessment but the appeals took a year and the uncertainty led to the departure of her personal assistant, who’d been with her for 30 years.

A large volume of complaints have been filed with the UK’s Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about social care assessments. There has been a 140 per cent rise in social care complaints since 2010, according to the ombudsman’s annual report released last November, with social care assessments now among “the biggest areas of complaint.”

Assessor 'didn't know anything about dementia'

While some told Human Rights Watch, they were able to appeal and get the social care they needed, the process often led to delays in receiving services, and many described facing physical, psychological, and financial hardships as a result.

Joy Watson aged 59 has dementia but lost her care services following a care reassessment, which led to finanicial hardship. She appealed with her local authority but when that failed she went to court to ensure all her services were reinstated.

“Right from the onset, I realised that the person doing the assessment didn’t know anything about dementia. She was very keen to know whether I could dress myself or walk but she didn’t take into account any of my dementia systems. “The day after I lost all my benefits, my husband lost his carer’s allowance. We took it to court. For seven months my life went on hold. I was borrowing from people to pay bills.”

Human Rights Watch has stated that despite efforts, it was not able to secure an interview with a care assessor.

In a 2017 study, by the Care and Support Alliance, which represents over 80 of British charities, care assessors said they faced pressure from managers and officials responsible for funding decisions to cut social care costs.

With Government cuts to council budgets hitting social care services hard, Bethany Brown, researcher on older people’s rights at Human Rights Watch, said: “Many older people in England desperately need these services and have no alternatives, so serious cuts to social services funding and an improper assessment can cause tangible risks to their health and wellbeing”.

While the NHS long-term plan has been published, many in the care sector are still waiting for a consultation to arrive on the funding of social care, expected in the long-overdue social care green paper.

The human rights body has recommended the government ‘execute a plan’ for the long-term stability and sustainability of the social care system ‘to ensure the human rights of older people are fully respected’.

To read the report ‘Unmet Needs: Improper Social Care Assessments for Older People in England’, visit the Human Rights Watch website.