On 23 November 2012, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published a guide to home care and human rights. The Equality and Diversity Forum welcomed the publication.
‘Your rights to home care’ by the EHRC aims to empower older people so they know they are entitled to a home care service that respects their human rights, however funded, and what to do if those rights are at risk. The guide follows the launch of the Commission’s ‘Close to Home’ inquiry report one year ago, which showed that many older people are reluctant to complain about inadequate care.
The Equality and Diversity Forum welcomed the publication of the new guide. Amanda Ariss, EDF Chief Executive, said:
Our human rights are an important safety net to protect us all. Sadly, however, too many older people are falling through the net when it comes to receiving care in their own home. There are simply too many examples of older people being subject to physical abuse, inhuman and degrading treatment, invasion of privacy and a fundamental lack of dignity and respect.
The Human Rights Act places a duty on state-funded care providers to respect the sixteen fundamental rights that belong to each and every one of us. More must be done to help older people, their families and carers understand and assert these rights. EDF welcomes this new guide from the Equality and Human Rights Commission as an important step forward in this direction.
Click here for EHRC guide
