A PENSIONER'S champion is calling for new regulations to ensure home helps are trained and properly regulated.

Sue Troughton, founder of the Campaign for the Restoration of Older People's Services, is concerned at Lancashire County Council's increased use of private sector home helps.

She has written to County Coun Doreen Pollitt, chairman of social services, asking for clarification about how the service is being operated.

And she has also written to Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson pressing for a Domiciliary Care Act to ensure all agencies are required to vet employees, provide training and stick to current guidelines and practices to provide proper care and service.

Sheltered housing scheme warden Mrs Troughton, of Goodshaw Avenue, Loveclough, founded CROPS when the county council withdrew home helps from many elderly people in East Lancashire.

She now fears a "hidden agenda" to allow the county council to distance itself from its own home help service and get rid of its own home helps in favour of the cheaper private sector.

"When buying in a service is LCC considering all aspects of the service to be provided, or just whether it is the cheapest?" she asked.

"Are there procedures in place to ensure that the services provided by private agencies are of the required standard and monitored regularly?"

She also queries whether employees are properly vetted and trained.

But County Coun Doreen Pollitt refuted claims of any hidden agenda saying social services decisions were made by an open committee held in public.

She said: "The home help service is now part of the Direct Service Organisation (DSO) along with homes for the elderly. This was done to enable the home help service to compete on the open market and be more flexible.

"Of course, we consider all aspects when we buy services and we run a voluntary registration for all private care agencies. We only purchase from those who register with us."

County Coun Pollitt said contracts were monitored and if they are not being carried out properly they are cancelled.

She added social services was committed to providing good quality services whether contracts are carried out by LCC's own DSO or through the private sector.

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