NHS
A perfect storm for care homes
Councils must now strategically invest in services to help people stay in their own homes and negotiate jointly with their NHS partners to play a bigger role in modern nursing homes, says Iain MacBeath.
People matter more than places
Until we stop obsessing about the process of place and begin to reconnect meaningfully with people where they live, we won’t change anything, says Donna Hall.
Blood out of stone
Opportunities to drive out further efficiencies from councils lie in prevention and integration, but 'will take time and investment and is unlikely to deliver any benefits until the back end of the Spending Review at the earliest', says Tony Kirkham.
Hancock under pressure on anti-obesity plans following PHE closure
Health secretary Matt Hancock is under growing pressure today to say who will take responsibility for the national fight against obesity following his decision to close down Public Health England (PHE).
EXCLUSIVE: Resistant shielders could be docked pay
Council employees who have been shielding could be docked pay if they refuse to return to work.
Hancock scraps Public Health England
Ministers have been accused of making Public Health England (PHE) a scapegoat by scrapping the body for alleged failures in the testing and tracing of coronavirus.
Riding the second wave
Donna Hall says local government has never been so loved as people realise the power of community, the power of neighbourhood and above all, the power of local
Centralising care won’t help anyone
Without adult social care, councils would be self-sufficient on business rates, council tax, fees and charges, says Heather Jameson. But it is not just the budget that matters, it is the people, she adds.
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.
Government handling of social care during pandemic attacked
MPs have delivered a blistering attack on the Government’s handling of social care during coronavirus.
Keeping positive outside crisis time
The better nature of people has come to the fore during the recent pandemic, but how do we keep the momentum going in more ‘normal’ times? Dan Corry poses the question.
The very big and the very small
Chief executive of Shared Lives Plus Alex Fox outlines three ways we might move from thinking big to thinking small as the crisis moves into its ‘new normal’ phase.
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.
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.
Government 'failed to prepare' on PPE, say MPs
The Government has failed to ensure there is enough personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of a second wave of coronavirus, a watchdog warned today.
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.
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.
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.
Digital engines – the ‘new normal’ in local government?
Digital engines will become a staple of every local authority’s digital provision moving forward into the ‘new normal’, says John McMahon.
