Human Rights in Care Round-up

On the 23rd of October we hosted our annual meeting and panel event, Human Rights in Care. We were delighted to be joined by many members, supporters, colleagues and people who have used our advice service, to mark the the 25th anniversary of the UK’s Human Rights Act and the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights.

We were honoured to have Mutlu introduce the event, speaking about his experience supporting his dad, Rifat, through his care journey. Mutlu has used our advice to advocate for rights-based care for his dad, but he has seen how much of a challenge it can be. His introductory remarks highlighted the challenges faced by people in the care sector every day, and showed the value of having good advocates in your corner.

Mutlu introducing the event

Our event endeavoured to tackle the question: how do we embed a culture of rights in care? We heard from panellists that knowledge and training is essential to tackle legislation that can be fragmented and hidden from people. The panellists emphasised that we must instil what the Human Rights Act means, recognising that there are public officials with a duty to uphold human rights - it is not just the state.

We couldn’t have a conversation about human rights without acknowledging that they are becoming a politically fraught issue, and that they are increasingly under threat. With this context, it is imperative to understand that human rights isn’t always about a large and complex framework, it can be seemingly small things in care that uphold human rights on the day to day.

Upholding people’s human rights is increasingly challenging in a system under such huge financial strain. The panel highlighted last week’s report from Carers UK that showed that half of carers are cutting back on essentials. The pressure on care providers is significant, especially with changes to employer’s National Insurance contributions which were introduced earlier this year. The panellists called into question whether our governments have the political will to prioritise social care.

From left to right: Abby Jitendra, Principal Policy Adviser, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (panellist), Helen Wildbore, CEO, Care Rights UK (event chair), Mutlu Mehmet, speaking from lived experience of care, Jennifer Cannon, Head of Legal and Policy, Scottish Human Rights Commission (panellist), Heléna Herklots, former Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. Also on the panel attending online was Eddie Lynch, CEO of Law Centre NI and former Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland.

A critical barrier to protecting human rights that was discussed was inadequate complaints systems. When you can’t safely raise a complaint within the care system itself, you’re left with an exhausting fight to be heard, trusted and considered by arms-length bodies. At Care Rights UK we’re lucky to work with many excellent friends and family members who can support someone receiving care to raise a complaint, but not everyone has loved ones, making access to advocacy essential.

One of the panellists highlighted that 1 in 2 people hold ageist attitudes, and that persistent ageism in society can make older people devalue themselves, feeling like they shouldn’t rock the boat or are entitled to less. This must change in order to help everyone feel confident using their rights in care, and the complaints systems must be reformed so that concerns are addressed when they do.

We also discussed how these issues have affected many of our attendees personally - we are really grateful to those who shared their stories as part of the discussion.

Heléna introduced the audience to an apt quote as we consider the road ahead for rights-based reform: “Now is the time for optimism - pessimism is for better times.”

A heartfelt thank you to our panellists, speakers and attendees for participating in such an important discussion. As a small charity, we rely on donations to be able to run events like these, and to provide advice about rights-based care across the UK.

If you would like to learn more about how these issues work in practice, sign up for our webinar on December 11th, Care Rights in Action.