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Why we say,
"OH, YES MINISTER!" On 24th January 2003 after hearing from CARE TALK and WATCH delegates in 2002 Andrew arranged for Jacqui Smith MP, Health Minister responsible for Social Care, to go on the radio with him broadcasting from Care Home in the same area. That interview was to be in connection with our campaign to warn Government about the numbers of Home Owners who said they were deciding to close because of the cost of compliance to new room sizes etc . On BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester the Minister said:-. "Particularly following last year's Care Talk and talking to Care Home Owners, we are now changing the rules so if you existed before the new Care Standards came in and are providing good quality care you won't have to meet some of the specific more costly standards. In other words we listened to what they said and made the changes." As a result of her words we contacted the Minister's office to ask if the Environmental Standards were to be relaxed. We were told to wait for the official announcement. The Minister's statement was made nationally by the Department of Health on 19th February 2003. IMPORTANT NOTE: WATCH is not against increased room sizes and/or improving environmental standards. Our belief was and is that such new and improved standards should be put in place before regulation forces out the old. The resulting loss of beds had always been avoidable. Thankfully, due to a listening Minister in the form of Jacqui Smith, many Care Home Owners felt able to remain in the system and the loss of many more Care beds was prevented. To get involved ed in the work of WATCH click here CARE TALK was sponsored by Guide2Care and Business Link Herefordshire & Worcestershire.
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