Care Homes

(asked on 15th September 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of the use of the terms "love" and "darling" in a care home; and whether they have given advice to the Care Quality Commission and local authorities on such matters.


This question was answered on 17th September 2015

The Department has made no such assessment.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care. All providers of regulated activities must register with CQC and comply with Regulations and a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality.

One of these fundamental standards relates to treating users of services with dignity and respect. The CQC issues guidance to providers on how they should meet the fundamental standards. The guidance on the standard governing dignity and respect includes the following:

- when people receive care and treatment, all staff must treat them with dignity and respect at all times. This includes staff treating them in a caring and compassionate way; and

- all communication with people using services must be respectful. This includes using or facilitating the most suitable means of communication and respecting a person's right to engage or not to engage in communication; and

- people using the service should be addressed in the way they prefer, and local colloquial terms may fit such guidelines perfectly well.

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