After being contacted by the Guardian, Newcross Healthcare announced it would be scrapping the £50 charge by April 2019. The shadow minister for social care, Barbara Keeley, said the case was “symptomatic of our broken care system”. The Unison assistant general secretary, Christina McAnea, said: “Care staff can’t avoid being exposed to germs and health hazards. This practice seems highly dubious and we’ll be investigating.”Eileen Chubb, the founder of Compassion in Care, a whistleblowing charity that campaigns to improve care, said Newcross care workers concerned about the policy had contacted her. The Guardian understands the £50 charge has been in place since at least 2014, but Newcross was unable to say how long it had been in operation.

Source: The Guardian December 23, 2018 18:00 UTC