Westminster city council publishes a charter for adult social care this week, setting out to service-users and third party providers the way it envisages care should be delivered.
The charter is based on the idea "that every person has the right to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect", and was drawn up by the council's safeguarding team.
Westminster's cabinet member for adults and health, councillor Rachael Robathan, said: "The charter enshrines our beliefs in how people at Westminster should be treated. We've already produced a social care mandate about the services that the people of Westminster should expect, but our charter is about the type of treatment that they should expect. It is our pledge to service users.
"We use third party agencies, and it is also a way to explain what we expect from providers. It's about the culture."
Robathan was involved in drawing up the charter before staff in adult social care teams gave their views. She adds: "We had huge, tremendous feedback. We have a committed and dedicated team – it's the staff's charter really."
The team manager at Westminster's north-east locality service, Deborah Knapp, shared her views on the first draft of the charter. "Our first thoughts were: this is really just what we do," she said. "The change for us is that we're opening that up for others to know and see. It's basically our bread and butter. It's our ethos, being given out to everyone else.
"As a manager it will also be useful for training and inductions for new staff, and it's empowering service users. For instance, it will make sure we are respecting religious and cultural beliefs."
The council launched its independent living mandate last September, "to help people live as independent and fulfilled lives as possible" by taking responsibility for their own care. With Westminster reducing adult social care budgets, Robathan says the charter is a way to reassure those with concerns over services.
"We've had quite a bit of change and budgetary pressure handed down to us. People are worried when things change. After implementing change, it's important to reaffirm our commitment to people."
However Paul Dimoldenberg, the leader of the Labour group on the council, is critical of the plans. He says: "I'm concerned that the number people receiving help from the council has reduced considerably as criteria has been narrowed down. This is a short sighted unnecessary step, particularly as the council underspent on adult social care by £5.6m last year.
"Effectively older people are bearing the brunt of the cuts, which is an appalling situation considering the wealth of Westminster. In many ways it is half hearted; no matter how fine the words are or how well presented the document is, the cold hard facts are that fewer older people are getting help from Westminster City council."
For Robathan, the issue is different: "This is not a PR stunt, this is our commitment. It's not just about the service we provide, its about the way we provide it. If someone's visiting someone in the evening, but they're grumpy and they use the wrong name, then that's not good care. The charter goes right into the core of our services. I feel absolutely strongly about this. It comes right down to the small things.
"My mother-in-law was from the age where it was polite to call people by their last names, but when she went into hospital they called her by her first name, instead of Mrs Robathan. Her medical care was excellent, but they didn't treat her in the way that she wanted to be treated, I don't think they even realised. It was the small things that took away her dignity. It's not just about good services, it's about delivering them well."
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