Browse by Tags

A report shows how stretched resources can be made to go further when health, housing and social care services collaborate For Bruce Wall, it's not about the money, it's about having his own life back. Wall, who is tetraplegic after a serious motorcycle accident nearly 20 years ago, says moving into his own adapted home managed by the Papworth Trust , a disability charity and specialist housing and support provider, has given him the independence he craves as well as access to the tailored-care package he requires. "I have been able to get on with things instead of feeling sorry for...

Countries are responding in different ways to the increasing number of older people, but should we be looking closer to home? There is widespread agreement that our systems of health and social care can no longer adequately meet the needs and expectations of the increasing number of people living into old age. Across the globe, countries are responding in different ways to this challenge, and that difference is also apparent between England and Scotland, which offers an intriguing "policy laboratory" on "what works". The English approach has been developed over the past two...

Greater collaboration between health and social care will mean better value for taxpayers and better outcomes for service users, says John Adams It is almost 15 years since the newly-elected Labour prime minister Tony Blair took to the stage at his party's annual conference in Brighton and declared a vision that Britain should be "the best place to grow old". The elderly, he added, should be "cherished and valued to the end of their days". It was with palpable optimism that he announced his desire to challenge the status quo "where the only way pensioners can get long...

Every NHS employee should be aware of the condition, says dementia tsar Alistair Burns The prime minister this week launched his Challenge on Dementia , alongside the Alzheimer's Society's report, Dementia 2012: a national challenge . This clear commitment from the government, and the prime minister personally, to tackle the issue will change the experience of care for people living with dementia in clinical, community and personal settings. Everyone involved in dementia care does not need to be told the extent of the problem. The number of people affected is increasing, an estimated 670...

It's time to reflect, and work together with those purchasing and providing services to develop policies and deliver change With all residents from Southern Cross care homes now receiving care from new providers, it is a good time to reflect on the social care market – where it has come from and where it is going. Unlike other public services, a market has operated for many years in social care. This has been driven by a range of factors – both from government and from individuals and carers. In residential care, we saw a large expansion in private care home provision in the 1980s, and then...

New leadership working with LGA at Wirral council after damning review into adult social services A new leadership has been appointed at Wirral council after major failures in adult social care at the Merseyside authority. The move follows the intervention of the Local Government Association (LGA), which has stepped in to tackle safeguarding concerns at the council. Jeff Green is now the new Conservative leader of Wirral council, following the ejection of Steve Foulkes and his cabinet, under which an independent review into adult social at the authority catalogued historic failures in the department...

Councils invited to bid for share of fund to help deliver adult social care services with lower budgets A programme aimed at cutting £50m from the cost of adult social services through improved productivity and efficiency has been launched by the Local Government Association and the Department of Health. Over two years, the adult social care efficiency programme will provide £1m in funding to councils seeking to make efficiencies in services for the vulnerable and elderly. Councils will be able to use the funds to push through schemes that can deliver better value for money and budget savings....

Age UK survey suggests many believe the government is not providing sufficient care for older vulnerable people Four out of five people in England believe the government is not doing enough to meet the care and support needs of vulnerable older people, according to research carried on behalf of Age UK. The results of a YouGov poll of 1,726 adults also show that more than three-quarters of those questioned said the government could do more generally for older people. More than half did not think that England looks after its older people properly. Michelle Mitchell, director of Age UK, said the findings...