News : Analysis, Adult, Guardian Professional

Social care cap will mean a transformation for councils

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:35:35 GMT

Government's swill see more pressure on adult social care departments, but could also lead to a new role in offering information and advice The shortcomings of the government's proposals for a cap of £75,000 (or £72,000 as is now being suggested) on individual liabilities for long-term care funding have been much discussed . Some of the practical implications of how the cap would operate need also to be explored. If the system is introduced, many more people will have contact with their local authority than is currently the case. At present people who have sufficient assets that they expect...(read more)

We need a full and independent audit of what care trusts achieved

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:12:23 GMT

Labour's promising experiment 'barely got out of the lab', yet could teach us a lot about health and social care integration The Labour party's new-found enthusiasm for total integration of health and social care begs the question of what it did to advance such an agenda during 13 years of government. Challenged on this at the launch of Labour's consultation on a potential policy of full integration, the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, came up with two pieces of evidence: the introduction of personal budgets, on which the jury remains out, at least in terms of change...(read more)

Can new Nice guidelines improve care for adults with autism?

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:15:02 GMT

Adults with autism should be supported to find and hold down a job, which would have innumerable benefits for their care The NHS needs to recognise the symptoms of autism in adults better, say new guidelines from Nice, the government's NHS watchdog. Because autism can affect people past childhood and there are variations in assessment criteria, it is a condition that can often be overlooked by care professionals – with severe consequences for those left undiagnosed. The new guidelines seek to improve this, identifying the most common, recognisable characteristics of autism and, in turn, emphasising...(read more)

Housing associations and charities deliver NHS service

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:08:45 GMT

A West Midlands consortium is hoping to improve residents' health by rolling out a confidence and wellbeing programme Rachel holds up a "joy jar". The different colour salts she was encouraged to put inside the jar represent five strands of happiness in her life. She says that this simple activity made a fellow user of a local wellbeing service smile for the first time since attending group sessions. "One lady that attended never spoke, never smiled, and then when we did this activity with the joy jar, the change in her was unbelievable," says Rachel, who has the long-term...(read more)

Improving care for older people: live discussion round up

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:51:15 GMT

Top tips from our panel on how to care better for the elderly Jocelyn Cornwell is director of the Point of Care programme at The King's Fund We need to move with the changing health needs of the population: Concerns about the quality of older people in health and social care are not new. What is new is the concern about quality of acute care and the lack of fit between older patients' needs, and the acute model of care that is offered in hospital. The whole system needs an overhaul: The National Commissioning Board should be providing the right framework of incentives and rewards to ensure...(read more)

Improving care for older people - live discussion

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:44:55 GMT

Join our live discussion to find out how we can improve care for frail older people, Tuesday 27 March between 1-3pm A King's Fund report out Tuesday 27 March calls for a revolution in the care of older people with complex health needs. According to the report, Continuity of care for older hospital patients, outcome frameworks, changes in working hours and measures of patient experience are all barriers to achieving consistent high-quality care for older people. The report argues that care for older people in hospital has been overlooked and a deliberate strategic approach with senior level...(read more)

Social care provision: what can we learn from our diverse market?

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:00:02 GMT

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...(read more)

Commons committee at odds with government over health reforms

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:33:38 GMT

While the coalition calls for a single integrated health and social care system, MPs have been getting out of Westminster and seeing what actually works Debate about the NHS is dominated by the health and social care bill. Debate about social care is dominated by the Dilnot report on funding reform. Yet neither is addressing the central care and support issues we face as an ageing society. That, in sum, is the position of the House of Commons health select committee . Although Conservative-led, it is on a completely different page to the government – a page that says the only way the health and...(read more)

The benefits of joined-up care

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:32:32 GMT

As the numbers of older people and those with chronic illnesses increase, Denis Campbell reports on a seminar which discussed the benefits of joined-up care While the task of integrating health and social care has never been more pressing, it has also never enjoyed such strong support. The government has made integration one of the key aims of its radical restructuring of the NHS in England. David Cameron has lamented and pledged to end the "deep divide between health and social care that is causing serious problems for vulnerable, often elderly, people and their families". The Department...(read more)

Wales' health plan emphasises social care

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:00:12 GMT

The Welsh government's five year vision is to have fewer people in hospitals by moving care closer to home Alarm bells are ringing for health and social care in Wales. A new strategy paper from the Welsh Assembly Government recognises that with the country's NHS attempting to save nearly £500m this year there is a need for change, and fast. Titled Together for Health: a five year vision for the NHS in Wales , it outlines how hospitals will change for the 21st century – but relies heavily on care moving closer to home, with a more integrated network of care. The Welsh government recognises...(read more)

Live online debate: How is Scotland diverging from England on healthcare and social care?

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:55:05 GMT

How do the two counties differ on health and social care, and what can they learn from each other? Join us on Wednesday 2 November from 1pm Scotland and England may both be part of the same country – for the time being – but they differ considerably in their approaches to health and social care, policy areas which were devolved to Scotland in 1999. Andrew Lansley's restructuring of the NHS in England and the introduction of GP-led consortia has been hit by criticism that the reforms will allow private companies to profit and bring about a decline in clinical outcomes. Contrastingly, Nicola...(read more)

How Andrew Dilnot and social care might save the NHS

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:00:03 GMT

Promoters of social care reforms are claiming that they could mean significant savings on healthcare Lord Warner did not mince his words when speaking to the National Children and Adult Services conference last week. "You are the saviours of the NHS, which is something politicians care about," he told the audience of social care providers. Warner, a former Labour health minister, had a simple calculation to back up his argument: elderly patients are usually cared for better and more cheaply through social care services than in acute healthcare. He told the conference that too many 80...(read more)

Bath moves social care and NHS services to a social enterprise

Healthcare Network | guardian.co.uk — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:00:16 GMT

A south west council has moved its staff and those from its primary care trust into a new community interest company The people at Sirona Care and Health certainly can't be faulted on presentation. Sirona, its name inspired by Celtic mythology, visions of watery healing and teams of marketing advisors, burst into life on 1 October. A social enterprise company spun out of Bath and North East Somerset council social services and the local NHS primary care trust (PCT), Sirona is charged with the provision of adult social care and health care for the area, from care homes and adult social services...(read more)