Learning disability services ‘deny human rights’
The government is considering structural changes to the way services are commissioned for people with learning disabilities after a report found services are below par. A Healthcare Commission audit concluded services for people with learning disabilities are not meeting the standards expected in the 21st century. Most services are providing a poor standard of care […]
Older people getting ‘poor deal from care homes’
Older people in Britain are paying up to £30,000 a year for a room in a care home and often do not know what they are paying for, according to a new study. A damning report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) – entitled A fair contract with older people? – reveals care […]
Govt ‘failing’ on elderly foot care
A lack of chiropody services is leaving thousands of older people housebound, a report has claimed. Age Concern’s Feet for Purpose warned older people are adversely affected by long waiting lists for foot care services in the NHS, with many being forced to pay for private care or rely on charitable help. The charity found […]
Govt to close institutions in shift to community care
NHS institutions for people with learning disabilities are set to close and residents moved to their own homes. The Department of Health announced the closure of the health service’s remaining ‘campuses’ yesterday as part of a drive to return people with learning disabilities to the community. Care services minister Ivan Lewis said the move marked […]
Funding boost for elderly care
The government has announced new funds to improve elderly care homes. Around 7,000 care homes will benefit from a £67 million cash boost, announced today by the Department of Health (DoH). The money will be used to upgrade care homes as part of the government’s Dignity in Care campaign, designed to improve the quality of […]
Hospital abuse prompts review of learning disability services
The Healthcare Commission has launched a national audit of learning disability services after a new report found “institutionalised abuse” in one hospital in south London. The health watchdog will look at 200 NHS and private services in England to establish whether problems identified in the Sutton and Merton primary care trust (PCT) are widespread. An […]
Medical expert system faces reform
A radical shake-up of the system for providing medical expert witnesses in court has been announced today, to address fears that current witnesses are not reliable. Chief medical officer Liam Donaldson proposed that rather than individual legal teams contacting individual doctors to act as witnesses in family courts, as now, the system be organised and […]
Milburn moots personal NHS budgets
Former health secretary Alan Milburn has proposed a new system of personalised NHS budgets, which people with chronic illnesses could use to buy social care. The MP for Darlington, a close ally of Tony Blair, told a conference in Washington yesterday that NHS credits could improve care, empower patients and drive down costs. “The idea […]
Tories in new drive to help social workers
The Conservatives have today called for an urgent review of the role and status of social workers, warning they are currently underfunded and overstretched. The party has set up a new social work commission, which will sit like a select committee at Westminster and take evidence on how the profession can be better supported. Its […]
Home care services shake-up urged
Councils have been urged to rethink the way they provide home care for the elderly amid fears that services are too rushed and not properly tailored to people’s needs. The first ever inspection of home care in the UK today finds that although there are high levels of satisfaction with state-funded services, many older people […]
