Home Care News
More than two million older people struggling with basic aspects of living alone
28 Nov 2014
In England, there are over two million older people struggling with basic aspects of living alone in England, according to a new report by Independent Age and the Strategic Society Centre. The Bigger Picture report suggests that.....
'Urgent action' needed to protect adults with learning disabilities from poor care services
26 Nov 2014
A Government commitment to remove adults with learning disabilities from inappropriate community care placements, made in the wake of 2011’s Winterbourne View scandal, has not only failed, according to an Acevo report published today,.....
The Silver Line celebrates first birthday by partnering with CQC
25 Nov 2014
Free and confidential helpline, The Silver Line is today celebrating its first birthday by announcing a new partnership with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Since launching on 25 November 2013, The Silver.....
Search on for 100 people over 100 years old for celebration of age
25 Nov 2014
People over the age of 100 years old are being encouraged to share their life stories, advice and experiences as part of a new series being created by the BBC. Organisers of a new ‘Ageing Series’ want to find people who have reached.....
Mum of dead autistic woman kept in padded hospital room says 'I miss her every day'
25 Nov 2014
The mother of Stephanie Bincliffe, who had a learning disability and autism, and was kept in a padded hospital room for nearly seven years until dying from heart failure and sleep apnoea, due to obesity, said “I miss her every day”. Ms.....
Public attitudes to disability have improved in the last 20 years
24 Nov 2014
Six out of ten disabled people believe that public attitudes to disability have improved in the past two decades but a significant proportion still say that they experience discrimination, according to research by the charity Scope......
Giving dementia carers emotional support reduces depression and anxiety
24 Nov 2014
Giving dementia carers emotional support and strategies on how to cope, can reduce depression and anxiety and improve their quality of life, according to new research. The START (STrAtegies for RelaTives).....
New dementia partnership devised to help family carers
24 Nov 2014
A new dementia partnership has been announced between Dementia Adventure and health and social care provider Care UK. The new initiative will run for the next year and see the introduction of a programme of.....
BBC show looking for older people urgently needing house adaptations
20 Nov 2014
The BBC programme DIY SOS: The Big Build is searching for older people, in desperate need of having their house adapted, so they can continue to live at home. The programme, which stars Nick Knowles and a.....
National Audit Office urges Government to 'be better informed' on local authority budgets
19 Nov 2014
A new National Audit Office (NAO) report has furthered concerns over the ability of local authorities to meet their social care funding goals, finding that one quarter of councils have been forced to make unplanned amendments in order.....
Dementia therapy tool launched for people in early stages of dementia
19 Nov 2014
A ‘dementia discussion map’ has been launched by Bupa, to help its specialist dementia nurses, structure conversations with people in the early stage of dementia. The map which was launched at the UK Dementia.....
Growing number of 'silver separators' as divorce rates increase among older people
19 Nov 2014
Growing divorce rates in old age could contribute to increasing isolation and a greater need for formal care, argues the think tank International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK). In its new report, the.....
Home care head named UK's 'Most Outstanding Leader in Care'
18 Nov 2014
Penrose Care’s managing director, Robert Stephenson-Padron, won the “Most Outstanding Leader in the Care Sector in the UK” award at the 2014 UK Over 50s Housing Awards ceremony held recently at the Westbury Hotel, London......
Unpaid carers advised to seek flu jabs this winter
17 Nov 2014
Head of dementia services at , one of the country’s largest care providers, is urging home-based family carers to organise flu jabs before the depths of winter arrive. Maizie Mears-Owen’s.....
NHS receives £300m extra funding to prepare for winter months
14 Nov 2014
Extra funding for the NHS has been announced by the Department of Health in a bid to relieve added pressures faced by health services over the coming winter months. The £300m of extra provision will increase current funds to.....
Third of local councils criticised for cutting community meals services
13 Nov 2014
Concerns have been raised by the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) over the risk older people face from malnutrition and social isolation, with austerity having a massive impact on the provision of meals on wheels, luncheon.....
New company launched to provide homecare for people in Cardiff
13 Nov 2014
Heritage Healthcare Cardiff has registered with the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and will offer support to people who would like to remain living independently in their own homes. The.....
Almost three out of ten Blue Badges misused by non-disabled drivers
12 Nov 2014
Crackdown operations on Blue Badge misuse and fraud in disabled parking areas, undertaken by Hampshire County Council, found that 28 out of 100 badges inspected were being wrongly used. Teaming up with Portsmouth City Council’s.....
Good Neighbours the best weapon for fighting rogue traders
12 Nov 2014
According to the National Trading Standards Board, there are around 170,000 incidents of doorstep crime each year, most of which target older or vulnerable people with aggressive selling and extortionate prices for substandard work. With.....
Learning Disability Work Experience Week back for second year
12 Nov 2014
A number of companies including British Red Cross and South West Trains are offering placements to people with learning disabilities this week as part of Mencap’s second Work Experience Week. Although 65 per cent are able and.....
Projected savings of Better Care Fund overestimated by £700m
11 Nov 2014
The Better Care Fund will fail to make the £1bn of projected savings for the NHS when it is launched in April 2015, the National Audit Office (NAO) has claimed. The fund, aimed at joining up local services for older and disabled.....
Royal Wootton Bassett reaches out to senior citizens with IT initiatives
11 Nov 2014
A café-style IT club for older people has launched in Royal Wootton Bassett, with the help of Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Stephen Williams. Every morning the Withit café.....
Improvement to flu vaccination could keep older people healthy during winter months
11 Nov 2014
A new drug has the potential to increase the protection older people receive against seasonal flu and other infections, researchers from the University of Oxford have said. Researchers are looking into the compound, called spermidine,.....
Mencap and Scope chosen as beneficiaries for Lord Mayor’s Appeal
10 Nov 2014
Newly elected Lord Mayor of London, Alan Yarrow, has named disability charities Mencap and Scope as the two main beneficiaries of the Lord Mayor’s appeal. The Lord Mayor’s appeal creates a new charitable theme every year and provides.....
Threat of an impending ageing crisis in Eastern Europe
10 Nov 2014
The International Longevity Centre (ILC) has produced a document showing the impact of ageing on Europe, the information reveals that Eastern Europe will be affected the most. The north and west of Europe are currently recognised.....
Learning disability conference held at the University of West London
07 Nov 2014
Some of the most prominent figures within the learning disability sector were recently invited to speak at a large conference titled ‘Together We Stand’, held at the University of West London (UWL.) The.....
Eighty-four-year-old ex-nurse calls for nurses to do less paperwork and more care
07 Nov 2014
A retired nurse has spoken out after the Royal College of Nursing revealed that only one in 10 nurses say they are able to deliver high-quality end of life care. Their inability to deliver the right level.....
Women's feelings of 'guilt' delay important care decisions
06 Nov 2014
Women are feeling the strain of being solely responsible for the care of their relatives. One in three women said that caring for a relative has caused a strain on their relationships and two fifths felt fully responsible for.....
New project encourages people with mental health difficulties to blog their everyday lives
06 Nov 2014
A new project funded by Public Health England, invites people living with mental health difficulties, to blog about their daily experiences. 'A Day in the Life' asks that people write blog posts to give others an insight into.....
Revolutionary new smart band sends out alert if wearer is unconscious
05 Nov 2014
An innovative new smart band has been developed, which is designed to send out an alert if the wearer loses consciousness. The band which has been produced by Acticheck continuously monitors the wearer’s.....
Swallowing a sponge on a string could replace endoscopy as cancer test
05 Nov 2014
Swallowing a sponge on a string could replace traditional endoscopy as an equally effective but less invasive way of carrying out a pre-test for cancer. The results of a Cancer Research UK trial involving.....
Thousands of lives at risk from shortage of NHS learning disability liaison nurses
05 Nov 2014
Nearly 60 per cent of British people are losing faith in the NHS, with people with learning disabilities being mistreated given as a key reason, according to a survey by Mencap. The reason for poor care of patients has been attributed.....
Ash lead singer records solo album about his dad who had dementia
04 Nov 2014
Tim Wheeler, frontman of the band Ash, has recorded a debut solo album about losing his father to dementia. The album ‘Lost Domain’ contains 11 songs which chart the progression of his father’s condition,.....
Nursing survey raises 'profound' concerns about quality of care for those dying
04 Nov 2014
Members of the Royal College of Nursing are concerned about the ability of health services to deliver high quality end-of-life care to the 500,000 of people who die every year in the UK. In a recent survey.....
Hospitality specialist at HC-One plans 100 miles in 100 hours for heroes
04 Nov 2014
Paul Carpenter, a hospitality specialist at HC-One, plans to honour the contributions made by British and Commonwealth civilian and military servicemen and women. Mr Carpenter has been in training for several.....
Adult safeguarding conference to examine how public and private sector can work together
03 Nov 2014
Leaders in the care sector will be coming together at the conference 'Safeguarding Adults in Care Homes and Hospitals' to share their knowledge and experience on promoting safe care. The Community Care conference.....
Unison reveals many home care workers' travel costs are unpaid
03 Nov 2014
The trade union, Unison has revealed that just seven per cent of local councils in England ensure that home care providers pay workers travel time. The information, obtained under the Freedom of Information.....
Autistic author explores English language from unique perspective in 'A different Kettle of Fish'
03 Nov 2014
‘A different Kettle of Fish – A day in the life of a physics student with autism’ is written by Michael Barton and follows his day spent navigating the popular idioms, metaphors and sayings used every day from.....
UK poised to combat norovirus and Ebola
03 Nov 2014
Preventing the spread of infection is a challenge all hospitals and healthcare settings will be desperate to demonstrate they are performing well on, as the fight against Ebola continues and the spread of the disease shows no sign.....