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30 October 2007
Councils must give people looking for care better and more
accessible information. That's the verdict of our mystery shopper
exercise – read the results in our report, published
today.
Our mystery shoppers, posing as people asking about care for an
older relative, contacted all 150 councils in England.
On the phone council staff generally gave good information and
inspired confidence. However their written information varied
considerably.
One of the shoppers said: "Some of the stuff they sent seemed
like they just picked up whatever they had and chucked it in an
envelope. There was no structure to it."
Key findings
- Nearly a quarter of councils did not send any written
information to our mystery shoppers, and of those who said they
would send an information pack, 11% didn't arrive.
- Just over half of the information packs were rated from
adequate to very poor.
- Some were given too little information, some so much that it
looked more like junk mail and could easily put off or confuse
people.
- Nearly a third of 125 councils, when asked, said they did not
have information for someone with poor eye sight.
Find out more
- Get advice on choosing social care
from our website
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