Home Care News
Nature films reduce anxiety in people in early stages of dementia
23 Dec 2015
Nature films have been found to lessen anxiety in people in the early stages of dementia and reduce symptoms of sundowning, according to a new study. When the sun starts to go down at the end of the day,.....
Innovative training scheme for home care workers axed after Chancellor cancels funding
22 Dec 2015
A new advanced diploma for home care workers has been scrapped after Government funding was withdrawn as part of the Spending Review. The training programme called ‘Home Care of the Future’ was going to.....
Retired policeman voted top home care worker and praised by CQC
21 Dec 2015
A retired police sergeant who has found a new vocation providing home care for older people, has been voted a top UK care worker and praised by the chief inspector of adult social care at the Care Quality Commission. Keith.....
Alzheimer's charity launches arcade-style game to raise awareness of dementia
21 Dec 2015
Alzheimer’s Research UK has recently launched a cross-platform game designed to help people understand the biology of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Amyloids – named after a harmful protein involved in.....
Anxiety 'increases risk' of developing dementia
21 Dec 2015
People who experience high anxiety are one and a half times more likely to develop dementia, according to a new study led by University Southern Californian (USC) researchers. Although previous research has.....
HenPower participants pen festive hit in celebration of another successful year of reducing loneliness
18 Dec 2015
People participating in an innovative hen keeping project designed to tackle loneliness in older people have lent their voices and talents to an original Christmas song. Older people’s charity Equal Arts.....
Health Secretary launches inquiry over woman 'bitten by a rat' in sheltered housing
18 Dec 2015
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is launching an investigation into claims a bed-ridden 75-year-old woman was bitten by a rat in council-run sheltered housing. Patricia Hudson, who died three months after the.....
Innovative portable technology provides care workers with unique reminiscence materials at their fingertips
18 Dec 2015
The care sector is under constant pressure to adapt the rapidly growing demands of the UK’s ageing population, with care services trying to introduce smart technology and online resources to both staff and service users to improve.....
Ecotherapy such as indoor gardening creates positivity in cancer patients
17 Dec 2015
Low impact and cost effective ecotherapy activities, such as indoor gardening, can help instil feelings of positivity and control in cancer patients, according to research. The benefits of being outdoors.....
Government creates new nursing support role to deliver 'hands on compassionate care'
17 Dec 2015
Health Minister Ben Gummer has announced a plan to create a new nursing support role to bridge the gap between care workers with a care certificate and registered nurses. The nursing associate role could.....
Singing in choirs and helping children read helps maintain older people's mental wellbeing
17 Dec 2015
Improving the mental wellbeing of older people can benefit families and communities as well as reducing or avoiding the need for health and social care, according to new guidance from NICE. Health watchdog,.....
Microscopic swimming devices could deliver drugs to targeted places in the human body
16 Dec 2015
A new method of guiding microscopic swimming devices could be used to deliver medication to a targeted location inside the body, according to new research. The study by engineers at the University of Sheffield.....
Doctors urged to give patients a 'good death' with personalised plans
16 Dec 2015
Advice has been drawn up to help health and social care workers deliver ‘a good death’ for dying patients. The guidelines from NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommend personalised plans for the dying.....
Women urged to talk about taboos such as the menopause and incontinence
15 Dec 2015
Women should talk about taboo subjects such as the menopause and incontinence, according to the chief medical officer. In her latest annual report, ‘Health of the 51%: women’, Chief Medical Officer (CMO).....
Men and Suicide: 'We weren't told in school we may one day have an illness whispering suicidal thoughts'
15 Dec 2015
The third Monday in January is promoted as the most depressing day of the year. Following the excitement of Christmas, your money is spent and it’s dark, cold and miserable outside but for many, anxiety does not wait for a single.....
Actress and mother of Emma Thompson reveals unique challenges of caring for someone with dementia
15 Dec 2015
Actress and mother of Emma and Sophie Thompson, Phyllida Law, has spoken of the challenges she faced when caring for her mother with dementia. Ms Law, who spoke out to publicise a report by Alzheimer's.....
Eighties pop stars Nik Kershaw, Paul Young and Squeeze’s Chris Difford join forces for prostate cancer gig
14 Dec 2015
A host of pop and rock icons from the eighties will take centre stage at the O2 Academy Islington in 2016 to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK in memory of their musician friend Matt Irving. Squeeze’s Chris.....
Care homes to host a happy Christmas for lonesome elderly
14 Dec 2015
Care homes are throwing open their doors to give lonely, older people in the local community a happy Christmas. Contrary to the nativity story of ‘No room at the inn’, The Beeches Care Home in Stockton-on-Tees,.....
London café to open its doors to the elderly on Christmas Day
11 Dec 2015
A North London cafe will open its doors on Christmas Day to provide free Christmas lunches to older people, who would otherwise spend the Day completely alone. The Haberdashery is situated on the High Street.....
Concerns raised over CQC's 'alarming lack of attention to detail'
11 Dec 2015
The Committee of Public Accounts has raised concerns over the performance and ability of the independent care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), to regulate health and care services. In its twelfth.....
Moderate drinking reduces the risk of death in people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease
11 Dec 2015
Research conducted by the Danish Alzheimer's Intervention Study has proved a link between moderate alcohol consumption and a reduced risk of death in people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in the journal.....
Home visits continue despite care workers' houses flooding
11 Dec 2015
The Cumbrian floods have claimed the homes and personal possessions of care workers as well as the old and frail but that hasn’t stopped them making home visits. Flood victim Christine Lamb is one of three.....
Scientists discover molecule that could help to clear Alzheimer's brain proteins in mice
10 Dec 2015
Research has revealed that a new chemical could help to break down some forms of amyloid beta protein deposits in the brains of mice. Amyloid beta is a toxic molecule found to build up to form plaques in.....
Happy women do not live longer than those who are unhappy
10 Dec 2015
Women who live happy lives are no longer thought to live longer than those who are unhappy, a study published in The Lancet has revealed. The study of more than one million UK women, showed that happiness.....
Elderly occupied more than a third of England's hospital beds last winter
10 Dec 2015
Just 3.6 per cent of patients, most of them older and frail, took up more than a third of the bed capacity in England’s hospitals last year, the Nuffield Trust reveals today. The health charity's analysis.....
Care sector calls for crisis talks following Spending Review
09 Dec 2015
Four agencies representing care providers and commissioners across the health and social care sector have requested urgent crisis talks with the Treasury and Whitehall Departments, following a growing crisis in the care of older people.....
Care providers advised to start preparing for the new National Living Wage
09 Dec 2015
The Government is urging care providers along with other businesses in the UK to take simple steps now to prepare for the introduction of the new National Living Wage in April 2016. The new wage will become.....
Negative thoughts about ageing can trigger dementia
08 Dec 2015
People who think negatively about growing old are more likely to suffer brain changes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, say academics at Yale. 'I think, therefore I am’ the famous words of Descartes, is born.....
Gogglebox stars join Age UK's campaign to combat rising loneliness at Christmas
07 Dec 2015
Gogglebox favourites June and Leon Bernicoff are starring in an Age UK advert to help combat loneliness during the festive season. It marks the next stage of the charity’s http://www.carehome.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1571993/Dame-Judy-Dench-backs-Age-UKs-campaign-to-prevent-heart-breaking-loneliness-at-Christmas|‘No.....
Memories of dead loved ones make elderly hate Christmas
07 Dec 2015
A quarter of people over the age of 65 hate Christmas because it reminds them of the loved ones who have passed away and relatives who will not visit them. According to a poll by Age UK of people aged over.....
Budget cuts and the rise of social media leads to people going online for mental health support
04 Dec 2015
In November it was revealed by mental health charity Mind, that local authorities in England spend just one per cent of their public health budgets on mental health. The Mental Health Foundation reports that.....
Former John Lewis director reveals why his home care company is employee owned
04 Dec 2015
Three years ago, Dan Knowles set up The Mary Knowles Homecare Partnership, named after his grandmother Mary Knowles, who is 102 and still lives at home supported by domiciliary care workers. After studying.....
Mother of autistic son told to 'watch Rain Man' and warned he will 'be institutionalised'
04 Dec 2015
When her son was four, Hazel Davies was informed he had severe autism and was told by a medical specialist “Go home and watch Rain Man. In all probability your son will be institutionalised”. However Ms.....
Dreaming of a dementia friendly White Christmas
03 Dec 2015
How do you make a theatre performance dementia friendly? Ask someone with dementia. That’s what Nicky Taylor at West Yorkshire Playhouse did to create the award-winning play White Christmas, which has attracted a new audience of theatre-goers......
Charities invite the elderly to 'come dine with them' this Christmas
03 Dec 2015
Organisations such as charity and care provider Abbeyfield, the Royal Voluntary Service and Friends of the Elderly are encouraging care homes and other organisations to host events and share food this Christmas, inviting in isolated.....
ReminiScent cards evoke memories and stimulate conversation for those living with dementia
02 Dec 2015
The sense of smell is the most immediate and emotional of the senses; rooted in the parts of the brain responsible for evoking memory and emotion. Whether positive or negative, this exchange results in a connection that makes a difference.....