PEOPLE who receive care visits in Bury are receiving appropriate support, council bosses say.

It follows two national newspaper articles which suggested some house calls were too short

The Daily Telegraph asked all councils in England about the subject and Bury Council responded that, in one particular week in 2011, 1,020 care visits — three per cent — lasted less than five minutes.

The newspaper suggested there are 53,000 such visits annually — an assumption rejected by Bury Council.

Cllr Rishi Shori, Labour deputy leader and council's health and wellbeing representative, said: "Many variables can influence the duration of a visit and this may fluctuate over a year, so that simple maths isn't necessarily representative of the reality."

The Daily Mail claimed Bury Council had "actively commissioned" five-minute care visits - also denied by council bosses.

A Bury Council spokesman said: "We never commission visits of less than 15 minutes," adding that, in some cases, care providers may deem it appropriate to stay for a shorter time period.

"Often, as part of a social care package, there are circumstances when an individual only requires a brief visit, for example to receive medication."

The spokesman continued: "Visits are always commissioned in accordance with assessed need, and when visits of shorter duration take place, we investigate those instances with the provider."

Each carer must sign in and out after every visit so council bosses can analyse visit statistics.

"We are confident that people in Bury who need domiciliary care continue to receive the high quality of care they need," the spokesman added.

Bury Conservatives leader, Cllr Iain Gartside, said inappropriately short visits should be investigated if they are happening.

He added: "We need to ensure that our vulnerable citizens are being cared for properly."

Bury Liberal Democrat representative, Cllr Tim Pickstone, said: "Last year, the council admitted to providing 37 per cent of all home care visits of 15 minutes or less.

"Visit of only five minutes seems very wrong.

"I am very worried that allocating such a short amount of time for home visits makes it impossible to give proper care and have a normal and friendly interaction with the client.

"There is a real danger that a deteriorating health concern would go unnoticed.

"Charities like AgeUK, and trades unions like Unison, are all campaigning against care visits of less than 15 minutes."

Cllr Shori said it would be completely unacceptable for people to be visited for less than five minutes if they have personal care needs and the council does check whether this is happening.

He added: "We have reduced the number of 15-minute care visits by 40 per cent since 2011 and we will continue to ensure that people receive the best care and support for the services that are commissioned."