Home Care News
'Alarming shortage' of specialist consultants and nurses hindering stroke rehabilitation and aftercare
29 Nov 2016
Health experts are calling for an improvement in stroke rehabilitation services following an official audit of stroke services commissioned by the NHS. Around 9,000 patients a year could be missing out on.....
PM backs '1 Million Minutes' campaign to befriend lonely older people this Christmas
29 Nov 2016
Prime Minister Theresa May has backed Good Morning Britain’s '1 Million Minutes' campaign, asking people to pledge just 30 minutes of their time to help a lonely older person this Christmas. Launched in.....
Football mascot becomes Dementia Friend in partnership with Alzheimer's Society
28 Nov 2016
Hartlepool United has taken steps towards becoming a dementia friendly club by training its mascot, H’Angus the Monkey, as a Dementia Friend. Together with full-time staff at the League Two outfit, H’Angus.....
Supermarkets urged to introduce 'slow lanes' for older people
28 Nov 2016
Supermarkets across the UK are being encouraged to introduce 'slow checkout lanes' to benefit older people living in isolated areas by giving them a chance to experience the 'social aspect' of shopping. Researchers.....
Alzheimer's charity awarded £172,000 grant for 'promising' research
25 Nov 2016
The Denise Coates Foundation has donated a generous £172,000 to Alzheimer’s Research UK to fund two dementia research projects. The grant will be used to fund two three-year PhD research scholarships at the.....
Songwriter of chart-topping charity single misses his mum who had dementia 'most at Christmas'
25 Nov 2016
Songwriter Alan Stott has teamed up with Birmingham Conservatoire to join the race for the Christmas number one, with a jazz version of ‘What are we gonna do for Christmas?’ in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. The.....
Carers Rights Day: NHS urged to identify carers and promote their health and wellbeing
25 Nov 2016
Carers UK used Carers Rights Day to call on the NHS to put policies in place that will identify carers and promote their health and wellbeing. This comes in the wake of research which found people often don’t.....
Government to scrap 'bureaucratic nightmare' of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard coroner inquests
24 Nov 2016
Coroners will no longer be required to carry out inquests for anyone who dies while under Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), under an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill. The Government has ruled.....
Autumn Statement: Job losses from wage rise puts social care in 'NAM' not 'JAM'
23 Nov 2016
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement tried to 'absolutely ignore’ social care but seemed to deal the sector a body blow anyway with a rise in the minimum wage expected to bring job losses. Instead.....
Anti-dementia drugs: People taking memantine have highest risk of pneumonia
23 Nov 2016
Memantine has been singled out as the riskiest drug, in a study which looked at which anti-dementia drugs put people most of risk of getting pneumonia. The research by the University of Eastern Finland found.....
Four out of five local authorities admit social care shortages
21 Nov 2016
Four out of five UK local authorities admit there is a care shortage for older people in their area, new research reveals. The Family and Childcare Trust’s (FACT) Older People’s Care survey 2016, (published.....
Chancellor Hammond urged to introduce social care vouchers
21 Nov 2016
Chancellor Philip Hammond is being urged to use Wednesday's Autumn Statement to help the public prepare for their social care costs and introduce 'eldercare' vouchers. Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme,.....
Hillary Clinton's done it, now watch Chelsea Pensioners do the Mannequin Challenge
18 Nov 2016
In her bid to become President of the United States, Hillary Clinton took the Mannequin Challenge to try to outdo Donald Trump but now Britain’s Chelsea Pensioners have been caught on film playing this game of statues. The.....
MP Norman Lamb warns Brexit may exacerbate social care workforce crisis if UK 'clamps down' on immigration
18 Nov 2016
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for health, Norman Lamb, has spoken of fears for the social care sector which depends ‘very substantially’ on EU workers. The pressures facing the health and social care systems.....
Rallying cry for MPs to 'Save social care tonight' gets 279 'noes'
17 Nov 2016
An opposition-led debate proposing a motion to bring forward social care funding for 2019-20 to treat the sector’s funding crisis, has been defeated with 279 'noes' and only 200 ‘ayes’. Speaking on 16 November,.....
Prince Charles: 'Having reached this age I understand' what caring for elderly is 'all about'
17 Nov 2016
Prince Charles, who has just celebrated his 68th birthday, hosted a reception at St James's Palace for care home provider, Abbeyfield Society, saying "having reached the age I have, I begin to understand exactly" what caring for the.....
Sea Hero Quest: The smartphone game helping to fight dementia
17 Nov 2016
Sea Hero Quest is the mobile phone game that allows its users to help contribute to dementia research each time it is played, and has become the biggest dementia study in history. Since the game launched in May, more than 2.4m.....
Care failures reveal home care workers are 'crying out' for dementia training
17 Nov 2016
A lack of training for home care workers is leaving people with dementia in soiled clothing, without food or water or in hospitals and care homes when they should be at home, an investigation reveals. The.....
What if Santa forgot Christmas? Poignant animation shows dementia doesn't discriminate
16 Nov 2016
What would Christmas be like if Santa had dementia? Alzheimer’s Research UK has joined forces with Aardman Animations to show that dementia doesn't discriminate in a moving animation called ‘Santa Forgot’. Narrated.....
Teenagers' blood creates youthful brains in old mice
15 Nov 2016
The blood of teenagers has been found to improve the memory cognition and physical activity of old mice, according to new research. Sakura Minami, a neuroscientist from Californian firm Alkahest, may have.....
Dementia overtakes heart disease as leading cause of death in England
14 Nov 2016
Dementia is now the biggest killer in England and Wales, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), having replaced heart disease as the leading cause of death. Some 61,686 people.....
Positive Spin: Enabling people with dementia to feel 'free and happy' by cycling
14 Nov 2016
Positive Spin has a range of all-ability trikes as well as regular bikes, with the aim of Cycle Training UK's project to offer a fun and sociable activity that has the potential to enhance health and well-being in people living with.....
Probiotics found in yoghurt may 'benefit cognition' in people with Alzheimer's disease
11 Nov 2016
Probiotics found in yoghurt and supplements could help improve memory and cognition in people with Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests. A small clinical trial of 52 participants revealed that people.....
Virtual reality helps transport Chelsea Pensioner back to town he liberated in WWII
11 Nov 2016
A Chelsea Pensioner has become the first World War Two veteran to use Virtual Reality to revisit a town that he helped liberate 72 years ago. The virtual reality video was specially created for 91-year-old.....
Richard Branson's Virgin Care wins £700m deal to run adult social care services
10 Nov 2016
The board of the Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has authorised a seven-year contract with Virgin Care, marking the first time a for-profit company will run core adult social work services. Although.....
Complaints about home care rise by 25 per cent
10 Nov 2016
Complaints about the home care received by some of the most vulnerable people in England have risen by 25 per cent over the past year, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has warned. The watchdog received.....
'Complex' referral criteria delay dementia diagnosis
09 Nov 2016
Complex and time-consuming referral criteria are contributing to delays in the diagnosis of dementia, according to a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Scientists from Imperial.....
Family of 1966 World Cup hero backs new Dementia Friends Football campaign
08 Nov 2016
The family of England’s 1966 World Cup hero Ray Wilson, who played for Everton and Huddersfield and has Alzheimer’s disease, is backing the new Dementia Friends Football campaign. Four of the eight surviving.....
Fifty-nine-year-old completes 100th marathon in tribute to her mum who had dementia
08 Nov 2016
Susie Hewer from East Sussex,who recently completed her 100th marathon, raising £50,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK, has revealed every marathon was a "tribute to her mum". Mrs Hewer beat her original target.....
Think tanks urge Government to address £1.9bn funding gap
08 Nov 2016
Three think tanks have urged the Government to address the “critical state of social care” in the forthcoming Autumn Statement on 23 November. In a joint plea to ministers, the Nuffield Trust, King's Fund.....
Emmerdale to air 'heart-breaking' dementia special
07 Nov 2016
Filming is underway for a special episode of Emmerdale which will give viewers an insight into living with dementia. Using special camerawork and editing techniques, audiences will see the world from the.....
Public health campaign offers advice on how to 'Stay Well This Winter'
07 Nov 2016
NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) have launched an awareness campaign to keep vulnerable people well over winter. The Stay Well This Winter campaign encourages people most at risk of a preventable.....
Government to listen to dementia community so it can improve services
04 Nov 2016
The Department of Health has revealed a new listening programme to find out more about the experiences of people with dementia and their carers. The programme will use both face-to-face and online methods.....
Home care trainer: 'Advance care planning vital for delivering best possible end-of-life care'
02 Nov 2016
Michael Beresford is a learning and development manager and head of the SweetTree Home Care Services Training Academy. He works with all services at SweetTree, identifying the training needs and ensuring that all team members are.....
99-year-old Auschwitz survivor is Britain's oldest Poppy Appeal volunteer
02 Nov 2016
For over 35 years, 99-year-old Ron Jones has been a poppy collector for the Bassaleg and Rhiwderin branch of the Royal British Legion, and is now believed to be the oldest collecting in Britain. The veteran.....
Depression in older people is not a 'normal part of ageing'
02 Nov 2016
Earlier this year, a landmark NHS report, revealed shocking statistics – that four in 10 people in care homes and one in five older people living in their own homes are depressed. Older women were found to.....
London home care provider named regional Living Wage Champion
01 Nov 2016
Penrose Care was named London Living Wage Champion 2016 at the Living Wage awards ceremony held at the British Library in London. Judged by an independent panel of community leaders, the Living Wage Champion.....