Home Care News
Home care providers to be penalised for 15-minute visits to those living with dementia
29 Apr 2014
The Care Quality Commission’s chief inspector of social care has said that 15-minute home care visits to people with dementia are “ineffective, inappropriate and unsafe”. Andrea Sutcliffe told The Times.....
Care crisis beckons due to shortfall of family carers for older people, by 2017
24 Apr 2014
The number of older people requiring informal care will outnumber the amount of adult children or family members able to provide it for the first time in 2017. There will be a predicted shortfall of 160,000.....
E-bikes and a healthier working lifestyle piloted by Dundee care workers
24 Apr 2014
Carers at Dundee based home care group now have their own electric bicycle, embracing a greener way of working when completing the numerous short journeys they are required to make. The.....
Funding announced to protect older people next winter
23 Apr 2014
Volunteer-led projects aimed at helping older people stay healthy over the winter period are set to benefit from £2m of funding, the Government has announced. Projects which will support potentially vulnerable older people over.....
Older women locked out of jobs market by caring responsibilities
15 Apr 2014
Many older women are unable to work traditional hours, as they are busy caring for ageing parents, children and grandchildren. As a result, they are either shunted into low paid jobs or locked out of the.....
Diagnosing diabetes in elderly should be 'a priority'
15 Apr 2014
Everyone entering older age should be screened for diabetes to prevent the worsening of complications associated with the condition, according to a leading expert. Professor Alan Sinclair, director of the.....
GPs to offer better care for elderly, Skype consultations and extended opening hours
14 Apr 2014
GPs will offer elderly people personalised care, including individual care plans reviewed regularly with patients and carers by GPs, a named GP responsible for their care and same-day access to a GP when they need it, according to.....
Kent County Council drastically cuts home care agencies
14 Apr 2014
Kent County Council has drastically reduced the number of home care agencies it works with from 120 to 23. The county council has awarded new contracts to 23 organisations to provide home care to over 6,000.....
CQC asks for views on 'new, independent and rigorous inspection regime'
10 Apr 2014
The Care Quality Commission is asking people who use and run health and adult social care services and the general public for their views on its new "rigorous" plans for inspecting and rating care services. Over.....
NHS could save £15 for every £1 invested in mental health early intervention
10 Apr 2014
Early intervention for mental health patients creates huge long term cost savings for the NHS and improves the lives of people struggling with illnesses such as schizophrenia and psychosis. The long term economic benefits of.....
Incoming ADASS president highlights responsibility to be ‘honest with public’
10 Apr 2014
Incoming president of the Association for Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) wants social care leaders to offer an honest and balanced view of social care to the public. Although David Pearson wants the challenges faced.....
Two Coventry City players show their support for dementia awareness
09 Apr 2014
University Hospital (UHCW), Coventry has received a visit from two local footballing favourites in support of its Forget-Me-Not campaign launched to raise awareness of dementia. Sky Blues goalkeeper Joe Murphy and midfielder Franck.....
Scientists turn back ageing process and regenerate living body parts for first time
09 Apr 2014
Scientists from Edinburgh University have succeeded in regenerating a living organ for the first time. The team from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh,.....
Third of UK adults would refuse to move ageing parents into their home
09 Apr 2014
The majority of adults would refuse, or need to seriously think about whether they would let their ageing parents move in with them if they required full time care. An in-depth study from Care UK of 2,000 people with parents.....
Training for school nurses to become young carers 'champions'
08 Apr 2014
A new approach to supporting young carers has been announced by the Department of Health and Public Health England which will see school nurses receive training and become young carer champions. School.....
Some care providers pulling out all the stops to help vulnerable tenants fight the bedroom tax
07 Apr 2014
The controversial bedroom tax came into force a year ago, and thousands marked the event last week by holding a day of action. The policy has caused dissent all over the UK, with protesters claiming it is.....
Record breaking Sochi Winter Paralympics 'phenomenal experience for the Paralympic movement'
07 Apr 2014
The Great British Paralympic team has returned home from Sochi 2014 after becoming the most successful GB team to have competed in the Paralympic winter games ever, finishing 10th place after winning six.....
Seeing the person behind the dementia is ‘perhaps the most crucial aspect of care’
07 Apr 2014
Helping a person to live well with dementia does not only mean treating the illness, but ensuring their physical and mental wellbeing is maintained to allow them to continue to have fulfilling life experiences. This.....
Australian government announces migration opportunities for skilled carers from the UK
04 Apr 2014
The Australian Government has announced plans to increase its migrant intake quota by 30,000 next year, and is encouraging skilled health profesisonals in the UK to find out about the migration opportunities available to them. The.....
Should all disabled adults be exempt from the bedroom tax?
04 Apr 2014
Heléna Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK
YES
The controversial bedroom tax, which came into effect last year, taxes people living in social housing with more bedrooms than occupants. Under the new policy, people with one ‘spare’ bedroom in their council or housing association...
Iain Duncan Smith, Work and Pensions SecretaryNO
The Government claims nearly one third of working-age social housing tenants on housing benefit are living in accommodation too big for their needs.
Iain Duncan Smith said: “There are about 400,000 working age households........
New care guidance marks end to use of 'dangerous' and 'humiliating' face-down restrictive intervention
03 Apr 2014
The Government has pledged to reduce the use of ‘outdated’ restrictive interventions in all health and social care settings in new guidance set to help staff avoid the use of physical restraint. Through a new training programme.....
King's Fund claim health and social care system 'no longer fit for purpose'
03 Apr 2014
Independent charity The King’s Fund has called for the health and social care systems to be over hauled after claiming they are no longer fit for the twenty-first century. The report, chaired by Kate Barker, business economist.....
If face to face GP appointments are replaced by Skype will it further isolate people who are housebound?
03 Apr 2014
Trevor Brocklebank, chief executive of Home Instead Senior Care
YES
The Government’s plans to replace face to face GP appointments with consultations on Skype or iPads but there is the fear that it could increase the isolation and loneliness felt by those who are housebound.
Trevor Brocklebank...
Andrew Graley, healthcare director at Polycom EMEA, a provider of video conferencing equipmentNO
Mr Graley believes criticism of the reforms is down to fear of change.
He says: “People like to stick with the familiar, so it’s no surprise that for many of us, the initial reaction is to reject Jeremy Hunt’s initiative.........
Government pledges £4.5m to autism strategy to coincide with World Autism Awareness Day
02 Apr 2014
To coincide with World Autism Awareness Day, the Government has pledged £4.5m to the new initiative Think Autism which will improve adult autism services and create community-led awareness and support programmes. The Government.....
Charity urges Government to reduce learning disability deaths
02 Apr 2014
Leading learning disability charity, Mencap, is calling for the Government to set up a full National Learning Disability Mortality Review, which could help the NHS take the steps needed to address the fact that 1,200 people with a.....
Profile: 'Caring for my father was a privilege I wished had never ended,' says dementia campaigner Beth Britton
01 Apr 2014
When Beth Britton was 12, her father began to suffer from vascular dementia. He went 10 years without a diagnosis and during this time, she and her mother were his main carers. For Ms Britton, who has become.....
Fears over growing pressure on workforce caring for relatives with dementia
01 Apr 2014
Ninety per cent of employers fear the added pressure of caring for someone with dementia is having a growing impact on the health and productivity of employees. Research published by charity Carers UK’s business.....