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.
