At Care Campaign for the Vulnerable (CCFTV), we speak to families every day. Some come to us in crisis. Others want simply to be heard. What’s clear is that across the country, people are feeling shut out, shut down, and shut off from the process of ensuring their loved ones are safe and well cared for in later life.
But here’s the nuance that often gets missed – most of these families are not out to blame individual care homes. Many of them go out of their way to express admiration for the staff they’ve encountered. In fact, they often tell us: “We don’t blame the staff. We blame the lack of resources in the home.”
They see what we see – a sector doing its best under extreme pressure.
They understand the mounting challenges:
- Workforce shortages
- Rising complexity of care
- Inadequate funding
- Poor staff retention
- Regulatory burdens without supportive clarity
And yet, despite all this, families still expect and deserve transparency, safety, and dignity for those they love.
It’s this balance between compassion for the workforce and accountability for care that has always guided our work at CCFTV. And it’s why we continue to call for choice-led independent safety monitoring in care settings.
This is not about surveillance. It’s about partnership. It’s about offering residents and families with LPOA and next of kin with best interest decisions – the right to choose added reassurance, and giving care providers the option to implement safety tools without fear of being penalised or anticipating hidden camera usage
Too often, hidden cameras are used as a last resort – not because families want to catch staff out, but because they feel there’s no other option. This is not the outcome anyone wants.
A responsible, consented, independently monitored safety system offers a more constructive path forward:
- It protects residents’ dignity.
- It shields staff from false accusations.
- It builds trust between providers and families.
- And crucially, it allows for early intervention when things go wrong.
CCFTV also believes this should be accompanied by clear regulatory guidance, so that providers who want to be transparent are not left in legal or reputational limbo. The current ambiguity around the use of safety monitoring in care homes is helping no one.
As the Director of CCFTV , a not for profit, national safety in care organisation , I urge leaders in the sector to work with us – not just to call out failings, but to show how positive action can support the workforce while giving families peace of mind.
The care sector is full of extraordinary people doing an incredibly difficult job, day in and day out. We need to stop pitching families against providers. Instead, we must champion solutions that support both.
Families are speaking out – not to attack the care system, but to try and help improve it.
Let’s ensure their voices lead to progress, not polarisation.
For more information about Care Campaign for the Vulnerable or to explore collaborative approaches to safety in care, visit www.carecampaignforthevulnerable.com.
