CALLS are being made to review the terms and conditions of under-pressure social care workers across Worcestershire.

A group of county councillors say they are desperately concerned about a potential lack of oversight around adult care services which are handed out to third party providers.

Bosses at County Hall are increasingly looking to commission out care rather than get it done in-house.

A group of Liberal Democrat and Green politicians want an in-depth examination of the pressures workers are under, particularly around training provision and travel time between care homes.

The council's contracts do not insist that travel time from one nursing home to another is paid, and only require that at least the mimumim wage is offered for the day's work.

But the plea for an investigation was voted down during a council meeting.

Councillor Liz Tucker, Lib Dem group leader, said: "When we look after our relatives all we worry about is, 'will they be ok' when you leave them.

"We all read about it in the newspapers when things go wrong, but not always when it goes right.

"The bottom line is, this is an important job and we should make sure there is proper support and recognition for these workers."

Councillor Sue Askin added: "The motion is clear, it asks for due recognition and support for them."

Hundreds of providers bid for work from the council in adult care, both for vulnerable people in their own homes and those in residential or nursing centres.

During the debate Councillor Jim Parish, an independent, said he knew of one example of care worker who was paid for 17.5 hours despite "working for 27 hours" due to travel times between homes.

"We need to carry out a scrutiny exercise so we can find out what really is happening in our health care system," he said.

Others said they were concerned the tendering exercise encourages money-saving.

But Conservative Councillor Sheila Blagg, cabinet member for adult social care: "A call to action, to my mind, is what you do when you see failings, and you haven't highlighted any of those.

"We have a good track record in this council of responding to failings quickly and putting it right whenever things do go wrong, always putting the focus of attention on that person."

The administration is adding another £2 million into the fund for adult social care from April due to demographic pressures, and is making it a huge priority alongside children's services and highways.

The motion was voted down 24-31 despite backing from the main opposition Labour group and UKIP.

The entire Conservative group and independent Councillor Alan Amos voted against it.