MOST North-East councils are still insisting on 15-minute home care visits for elderly and disabled people, a trade union has discovered.

A series of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests by Unison revealed ten out of 12 local authorities in the North-East are still limiting home care visits.

Of the 12 North-East councils, only Newcastle and North Tyneside do not stick to 15-minute visits.

The union's report – entitled Suffering Alone at Home – is published today (Friday, January 29) and is based on an online survey of 1,100 homecare workers and data obtained from FoI requests.

Three quarters (74 per cent) of homecare workers who responded felt they did not have enough time to provide dignified care for the elderly and disabled people they visited.

Unison said 61 per cent of those surveyed said visits of just a quarter of an hour meant they frequently had to rush the care of people who were over 90 years old.

The limited time allocated means the majority of workers said they regularly didn't even have time for a conversation during some visits.

One third (32 per cent) said they have no time to address people’s personal hygiene needs such as washing, and a quarter (24 per cent) have no time to take people to the toilet.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “It is heartbreaking and distressing that many elderly and disabled people are not being cared for in a humane and dignified manner.

"Home care workers have shared their harrowing stories with a strong sense of sadness, guilt, anger, and ultimately disgust, at a broken homecare system.

“Eye-watering cuts imposed by the government mean councils are still booking the shortest possible visits to care for vulnerable, frail and isolated elderly people. Homecare workers are often the only faces some people see all day, and they are a lifeline – only they can call for help and ensure that the housebound people they care for are fed, washed and well."