Cash for care scheme could put the vulnerable at risk
Certain campaign groups have expressed concern over the new cash for care scheme, as they believe it will put vulnerable people at risk, reports the BBC.
The scheme, which was created up by the Department of Health, wants all adults in England to be given the money to manage and pay for their own care by 2011, generating more choice for those who would like it.
However, public sector union Unison says that this approach will only put some people at risk of abuse and exploitation.
Personal budgets are a new way of administering social care which builds on the previous direct payments scheme. Now people will be ale to claim the cost of their care in cash, instead of receiving care directly from the local authority. This means that those who do opt into the cash for care will have the responsibility of finding and employing their own care staff.
Unisons Helga Pile warned that she worried about those who are left to negotiate negotiate “the minefield” of becoming an employer on their own and explains that whilst the system will be great for some people, “others need good reliable care, not cash,”
A recent survey from Unison, the UK’s largest public sector union, found that 62% of social workers polled believe the roll-out of “cash for care” will undo a lot of the progress made towards protecting vulnerable adults.
A spokesman said: “Safeguarding people in vulnerable situations remains a priority but must be balanced with the genuinely transformational opportunities presented by direct payments”.