Shift from Care Service to Customer Service

I am fairly certain that you, like me, have been to a restaurant at some point in time where the staff rushed you through your meal and that you, like me, found it irritating and uncomfortable. I am also pretty certain that you, like me, would think twice about using that restaurant again and that many people who experienced that would, like me, probably tell any number of people about that bad service.

Now transpose that scenario to social care.

The now infamous 15 minute care visits are just one aspect of this, longer visits may equally involve care staff having to rush around leaving the individual who needs the service bemused and bewildered at the very least. At the worst it will leave the feeling a burden, someone in the way while the care staff do what they have to before shooting off to the next person. Add to this the times when the individual never knows who is going to turn up to help as staff rotation is based on the needs of the provider rather than continuity for the individual.

Of course this is not limited to home care, many care homes I’ve seen have a task-orientated culture where staff rush around trying to get jobs done and individuals merely become another box to tick on the endless ‘to do’ list and in the worst cases, as demonstrated on the Fiona Phillips’ Panorama programme last year (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gybn7) sometimes staff even fail to acknowledge the individual when they are undertaken their jobs.

The crucial issue here is that the person who needs the care service cannot just suddenly stop using the service because they are unhappy with it and if they are left feeling like a burden to the care service then they are unlikely to complain anyway and, equally, there may be a lack of opportunity for them to mention the bad service to anyone else.

Unfortunately we do not look upon those who need care services as customers. Look at the terminology, ‘service-user’, ‘client’, ‘resident’ or even ‘patient’.

Could you honestly imagine sitting down with your bank manager and having a ‘co-production’ meeting about your finances?

People who need social care services are getting a service and, as such, should be treated as customers no matter how that service is paid for. In many instances of course they are paying directly for that service.

We need to become a customer focused service which starts with acknowledging the individual as someone who has the right to be treated as a paying customer. Social services departments need meet the needs of customers rather than ‘commission’ services and regular reviews should not be just about immediate care needs but should also focus on customer care and the level of customer service that goes with the tasks being provided.

The needs to be a culture change in social care with a shift from task based commissioning to real customer service and customer service skills need to be high on the training list for all staff of undertake services for their customers. Personalisation must mean the customer comes first and what we want as customers will always vary. Some may like short sharp visits just so they can get on with their lives without strangers getting under their feet, many others will prefer visits that include a chat about what’s happening in the world, especially if they are isolated and unable to leave home. Whatever they want though it should be at the top of the list of services provided, after all, the customer is always right.

We shouldn't gag the BBC

Newsnight had two stories of child abuse, one they suppressed and one they failed to verify the facts. The result has been a total breakdown in the BBC news department with resignations aplenty and the entire news agenda dominated by the BBC.

Yet we must be careful.

Firstly the fallout at the BBC has obscured the very important issue of systematic and institutional abuse of young people in care, as well as the abuse by celebrities who held a position of trust. And, while the horrendous events reported by Newsnight are described as ‘historic’, the fact remains that abuse can scar people for life, impacting on their lifelong mental health, ability to form relationships etc.

There are still unanswered questions about the events at the homes in North Wales but these questions have been eclipsed by the frenzied call for heads at the BBC. The real story revolves around the original investigation in the early 1990’s yet, it seems, the truth will be buried beneath the bodies of those falling on their swords at the BBC.

In the second instance we need to be careful about this fevered attack on BBC News. After all, what percentage of news output at the BBC do these two Newsnight programmes amount to? Probably very little and we must not frighten BBC News into ‘playing safe’ with such stories in the future.

Without BBC reporting the Winterbourne View abuse could still be going on, elderly people could still be abused in certain care homes etc. Although these were Panorama investigations they still come under the BBC News banner.

We have more to commend BBC News for than we have to dismiss it with the fervour shown by many in high places and we need it to continue to investigate the wrong doings in society and expose abuse wherever it happens. The danger is BBC News producers will become too afraid of the ramifications of being too controversial and facing the wrath of those who disagree.

Newsnight cocked-up yet, if you read the circumstances, they were GIVEN the high profile name, further reading tells us that the victim in question was told that name twenty odd years ago. Reporters should have gone further in verifying the name and that is the only failure causing the BBC frenzy while the real story goes unreported and, possibly, uninvestigated.

The majority of the BBC News output is good, their exposure of injustices must continue and we must not allow this current mistake to stop this.

The World is Changing, Let's Prepare for the Future

Not strictly a social care blog I will admit, but social care is intrinsically linked hence the reason for putting it here.

The world is changing and, unfortunately, the politicians are failing to acknowledge and address the change that has a huge impact on all levels of society.

We are living longer.

As a result there is a change in the dynamics of society which are only partially addressed by Westminster and, as a result, preparation for the future is woefully short.

Take, for instance, working and the State pension. The age at which the pension can be claimed has risen and will continue to rise over the coming years to mitigate the ever increasing state pension bill. But what notice has been taken of the implications of this? Much is made of the current economic climate, unemployment figures especially among younger people. What we do not here about is the effect of people working longer on the unemployment figures.

It does not take an economist to work out that if people are working longer there are going to be less entry positions available to younger people and where people are working longer the size of the available workforce grows, meaning there is also a need to ensure growth in the number of jobs available otherwise the employment benefit bill will continue to rise.

Ironically, given the current Government approach, one of the areas of employment growth will be needed is in the public sector. As the population ages so will the age related conditions that need to be dealt with by the NHS and its staff, the number of those with dementia will increase dramatically as will other conditions that effect people as they grow older. As the population of the country continues to grow, because of ageing, other public services will need to meet the increasing demand.  It is all very well cutting services to reduce the deficit today but where will that leave us tomorrow?

It is not just politicians that need to adjust to the change in social dynamics. Businesses to need to be aware their customer base is getting older and adjust accordingly. As we age our needs change and it is folly to simply appeal to the younger market (personal bug bear – I do not want skinny jeans but why is it only them available in most shops!), with the high rate of youth unemployment and the fact that people are working longer in life businesses have to consider where the disposable income is!

Institutional ageism has to be halted, older people are now the majority rather than a minority to be sat in the corner and ignored. Some organisations (such as the BBC) have often been accused of ageism (especially with female employees) yet, increasingly their audience have become older people who deserve to be represented.

We are living in an ageing world and as the life expectancy rate continues to grow society will change. Those in charge of policy etc in the country, and, indeed, around the world, need to start changing too, in order to meet the challenges this changing society will bring.

The world is changing, let’s prepare for the future.