Care homes
Government has ‘neglected’ care homes - report
Government action to support care homes during the coronavirus pandemic was too little, too late, a report has found.
Plan to hand social care to NHS is for ‘wrong reasons’
Plans to hand social care to the NHS are being mooted for ‘all the wrong reasons,’ local government finance expert Rob Whiteman has said.
We need an entirely new approach on care
increased technological advances mean that in the future care is far more likely to be provided in people’s homes, says Jonathan Rallings. He argues that we need to create a system which can evolve to meet these more sophisticated needs.
Oldham tightens restrictions as Wilkins takes on Whitehall role
The council whose chief executive has been drafted in as national test and trace adviser has tightened coronavirus restrictions for its residents.
Call for clarity on social care testing and data
Systems for accessing COVID-19 testing data for care homes and the provision of tests in other settings have come under fire from providers and a council.
NHS to fund six weeks of care to support people at home
The NHS is to use part of its £3bn winter pressures cash to support people at home for a six-week recovery and rehabilitation period, it has emerged.
Long-term care in the wake of COVID-19
Baroness Sally Greengross says the care home sector should not have been ignored in planning for COVID-19, and it is now time for urgent reform to address fundamental structural problems.
COVID-19 testing is anything but strategic
Vic Rayner says local Public Health England teams still rely on care homes to manually update them on positive COVID-19 cases, preventing meaningful learning from data – and testing outside care homes has been insufficient.
It takes two
A £3bn winter funding boost for the NHS has highlighted a lack of focus on an adult social care sector that's been under pressure long before the COVID pandemic. Ann McGauran looks at the growing need for a joined up approach.
Two-thirds of patients discharged to care homes without tests
As many as two-thirds of elderly patients discharged from hospital into care homes at the height of the pandemic were not tested for coronavirus, according to freedom of information requests.
Social care workers should be clapped, not slapped by visa rules
Heather Jameson says that with home secretary Priti Patel’s plan for post-Brexit immigration rules released this week, the Government is playing to its core audience – and abandoning care workers in the process.
Minister admits care guidance was unclear
A minister has admitted that the Government’s guidance on transferring patients from hospitals to care homes was ‘not as clear as it could have been’.
Future proofing the power of social care data
The London ADASS region has quickly evolved a social care quality standards platform into a vital COVID-19 data collection tool. Ben Chance explains.
Let's hold on to what we've learned
John O'Brien says that for 'all of the enormous and well documented challenges, people at the local government front line have achieved remarkable things at pace and scale'. We must hold on to what has been learned, he adds.
Who are the losers?
At least in terms of public opinion, local government itself has come out of the pandemic crisis better than the civil service, says Ben Page – with 55% saying local authorities did a good job compared to 47% for the civil service.
Care chiefs reject Boris' COVID claims
Care chiefs have rejected claims by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that it was their lack of vigilance that led to a high number of coronavirus deaths in care homes.
NHS chief calls for social care reforms within a year
Sir Simon Stevens has called for a solution to properly fund adult social care to be brought forward within the next year.
Positive change is possible
The care sector has witnessed great tragedy in recent months. IMPOWER's Stuart Lindsay says 'there is an opportunity to fast forward positive change and benefit future generations - albeit one that needs careful steering'.
Fighting for everyone’s rights
Cllr Gavin Harding MBE became the first person with a learning disability to be employed by NHS England. He says councils could do more to employ learning-disabled people in ‘serious roles’. Ann McGauran reports.
Bringing the widest evidence base to decisions about local care markets
In the light of COVID-19 and in pursuit of better outcomes for patients and customers we need shared visibility of pathway performance from end-to-end, says Jonathan Flowers. New technologies can help, he adds.
