News story

21st November 2001

MP Welcomes Inquiry Into South Glos. Home Care

Northavon MP has welcomed the news that an external inquiry is to be launched into home care services in South Gloucestershire. The MP had complained to social services on behalf of several local residents who had suffered severe disruption to their home care services following the decision to contract out some services to Brunelcare. He had also received complaints from continuing South Gloucestershire care staff that reorganisation had meant they were not being used for frontline care, despite the shortage of care staff in the area. Now Director of Social Services, Bill Robbins, has commissioned an external evaluation of the whole process from the decision in November 2000 to contract out the service up to the present day. A report is expected by the end of December.

Commenting, Steve Webb said:

“It is absolutely right that there should be an independent investigation of what has happened to home care in South Gloucestershire in recent months. Far too many vulnerable residents have not received the quality of service they have a right to expect. Whilst it is true that social services is struggling with a woefully inadequate budget from central government, there are also big questions to be asked about management decisions that have been taken in recent months, and I hope that this inquiry will look at the whole way that this issue has been handled. It is vital that lessons are learned and that no resident has to suffer in this way again”.


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