Editorial
Yet again, following the pronouncements from the
National Audit Office (see item 7 in this issue) there
is a chorus of criticism aimed at GPs the basic tenor
of which is that The Department of Health
renegotiated the contract and, as a result GPs were
paid more for doing less work. This is all stuff and
nonsense.
We should remember – first, that there was a crisis
as GPs were leaving practices and were not being
replaced in the same numbers, leaving a significant
shortfall in GPs available to the general public.
Sounds like another workforce planning error—there
are plenty of those to go around in the Department of
Health (see junior doctors training!)
Second, why is it that it is the GPs who are blamed
for the incompetence of the Department of Health
which, at the time of the contract negotiation, clearly
could not have negotiated itself out of a paper bag!
It is facile to blame GPs. Who amongst us would
reject an offer from an employer of 60% increase in
pay for a little less work?
It is the DoH which should be pilloried for not
securing better value. It is not the medical
profession’s fault that fools were sent to by DoH to
negotiate.
I would be more impressed by this feigned shock by
Ministers and others if Ministers and senior civil
servants in the department had resigned. However,
accepting responsibility and accepting the
consequences – what we used to term ‘falling on
your sword’ – and this Government have become
complete strangers.
Abuse
1. How police and care staff failed the baby
killed by his father
1 March 2008 - Daily Mail
Item about an inquiry by Suffolk Safeguarding Children
Board which found that social workers failed to
act in to act in circumstances which should have
aroused suspicions
2. Why it could happen again
26 February 2008 - Daily Mail
Demerious Panton writes movingly of the abuse he
suffered in one of Islington’s children’s homes during
the 1980s and 1990s. He campaigned and complained.
No one listened until there was a three year
campaign by the London Evening Standard.
It was discovered that all of Islington’s 12 children’s
homes were run by or included staff who were paedophiles,
child pornographers and pimps.
3. ‘Culture of concealment’ divides Jersey as
abuse scandal grows
2 March 2008 - The Sunday Times
Jersey child sex victim says: I was threatened
2 March 2008 - The Mail on Sunday
I have known about Jersey paedophiles for
15 years...I had so not wanted to be right
2 March 2008 - The Mail on Sunday
Two and a half pages written by Eileen Fairweather
who won awards for the uncovering of abuse in Islington
Councils children’s homes. An investigation
which saw her smeared by Margaret Hodge, then
leader of the council.
4. Jersey abuse victims receive ‘threats’ from
former carers
1 March 2008 - The Times
Inside the chamber of horrors
1 March 2008 - Daily Mail
‘More remains’ in secret chamber at care
home
28 February 2008 - The Times
Former residents break silence with claims
of drugging, rape and torture
27 February 2008 - The Times
‘Cruel, sadistic and evil’ place
Ex-minister: I can prove child abuse
27 February 2008 - Metro
Quirky, independent and proud, the isle of
secrets and whispers
26 February 2008
Does ‘Colditz’ cellar hide a mass grave?
26 February 2008 - Daily Mail
Hunt for bodies at Jersey children’s home is
extended to six more sites
25 February 2008 - The Times
Children's home was 'like prison'
25 February 2008 – BBC News
The story of the shocking levels of abuse and possibly
murder at the Haut de la Garenne children’s home
on the Channel Island of Jersey continued to unfold
under the gaze of the world’s press and media.
With scenes of crimes officers making a painstaking
search of the home and its underground cellars.
There are almost 200 who have come forward claiming
to be victims and 40 people identified as suspects.
For BBC report click here
Business News
5. The UK’s 100 best small companies to
work for
2 March 2008 - The Sunday Times
The list includes a number of care related businesses.
In order and the placing is set out below,
together with the business description.
26 Castleoak, care home construction
61 St. Wilfrid’s Hospice, hospice
73 Norcare, supported housing charity
85 Solvey Healthcare, pharmaceutical sales
94 St. David’s Foundation Hospice Care, hospice
6. Private equity groups buzz around Busy
Bees nurseries
28 February 2008 - The Times
ABC Learning Centres of Australia, owner of the UK’s
biggest chain of children’s nurseries, has signalled its
intention to sell assets in order to cut debt. ABC paid
£101.2m for the businesses which have become
Busy Bees.
7. Office of National Statistics
ONS has announced that NHS spending on care from
the private and voluntary sector increased in 2006 by
15% to £5bn a year.
8. Forcing drug companies to publish negative
trial results ‘is against law’
27 February 2008 - The Times
Following the publication of results that showed that
placebos had the same effect as anti depressant
medication on people suffering mild to moderate depression
there were calls for pharmaceutical companies
to publish all data on medication trials – a preelection
pledge. However, although it is a criminal
offence to withhold information about safety issues
and adverse reactions the DoH has said it would be
unlawful under EU law to try to force pharma companies
to publish all data relating to clinical trials.
Care Homes
9. Care homes ready to refuse new residents
25 February 2008 – Northampton Chronicle &
Echo
Northamptonshire care homes say they won’t be
able to accept council-funded residents after the end
of this financial year unless more money is paid to
care for them.
Therefore, only a minority of homes will accept residents
from April 1, amid claims the rate of payment
by Northamptonshire County Council will lead to care
homes going bust.
For full report go to http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/
news/Care-homes-ready-to-refuse.3809608.jp
10. Care homes and the wider economy
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Jon Chapman of Pinders considers the issues of sub
prime and other external economic factors and
whether they will impact care homes. His conclusion,
no crash for the sector.
11. No duty of care owed by CSCI to care
home operators for home closure
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
A look at the Court of Appeal decision in Jain V Trent
Strategic Health Authority which held, by majority,
that care home regulators do not owe a duty of care
to care providers when they apply for urgent cancellation.
In Jain there was massive incompetence during the
cancellation process – evidence was there was no
basis at all for cancellation, let alone urgent cancellation.
The Jain’s were ruined. The case may yet
reach higher courts.
12. Falls from windows in care homes
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Keith Lewin looks at the issue of health and safety
legislation and Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate
Homicide Act 2007 in relation to deaths following
falls from windows. There have been a number of
recent prosecutions of NHS Trusts for such events –
resulting in large fines. The current going rate seems
to be £20,000.
Case Reports
Law Reports
13. Welsh Ministers v Care Standards Tribunal
and H
The High Court held that whilst the application for
registration of an individual as manager had to be
related to a specific establishment/agency it was not
necessarily the case that an appeal against refusal to
register should be struck out by the Care Standards
Tribunal where the premises had ceased to be available.
Disciplinary cases
Nothing to report
Cases in the news
14. Nurse 'gave out wrong drugs' at Maypole
nursing home
28 February 2008 – Birmingham Mail
Mary Casey, currently accused of misconduct at a
Birmingham residential home where 27 people died in
a year said she had wrongly recorded giving out
drugs because she had earlier found out her husband
had nine months to live. She admitted that the news
probably made her “unfit to practice”.
For full report go to http://www.birminghammail.net/news/
birmingham-news/2008/02/28/nurse-gave-out-wrong-drugs-atmaypole-
nursing-home-97319-20535276/
15. Care worker denies patient's rape
28 February 2008 – BBC News
Gareth Jones, 22, of Powys has appeared in court
accused of raping a woman at a nursing home. The
care worker pleased not guilty at Cardiff Crown Court
to rape and also to wounding with intent and unlawful
wounding against the woman.
The trial will commence in June.
For full report click here
16. Lost case dentist's £80,000 bill
26 February 2008 – BBC News
Dentist braced for NHS court bid
25 February 2008 – BBC News
Eddie Crouch, a Birmingham dentist was set for a
High Court challenge against NHS dental contracts.
He said the contracts that came into force in April
2006 are inadequate and waiting lists had
“dramatically” increased.
If Mr Crouch was successful it might have lead to a
big overhaul of dental services in England and
Wales. He has spent two years fighting the case.
He now faces a bill of £80,000 after losing his bid
For full report click here
For 2nd report click here
Children
Nothing to report
Conferences & Courses
17. RCN Independent Nurse Managers Forum
Conference: Improving practice...
improving care
The RCN will be holding a conference on Saturday 8
March 2008 at Cowdray Hall, RCN Headquarters,
London. The conference will examine the evolution
in the provision of health care and how independent
providers can look for ways to better assist the community
they serve. For further information please
contact the organiser: Guillia Ward; independent@
rcn.org.uk or visit www.rcn.org.uk/events
18. Capita’s 4th National
Data Sharing Across the Public Sector Conference
Practical Strategies for Success
Thursday 13th March 2008 – Central London
19. Plus A Half-Day Workshop
Data Sharing – Tackling the Challenges of
Consent and Confidentiality
Friday 14th March 2008 – Central London
Please note that we are now taking bookings on
these popular events, which are CPD Certified
and include contributions from the CESG and the
Information Commissioner’s Office. I would be grateful
if you could find the time to read this and also forward
it on to colleagues to whom it may be relevant,
especially those involved in Freedom of Information,
Data Protection and Information Management, so that
all stakeholders are given the opportunity to attend
this important event.
Receive a 20% Discount for attending both events.
Please click here for further details of these conferences.
If you have any problems with the hyperlink,
please e-mail me at dave.eastman@capita.co.uk
and I will send the brochure as an attachment.
Capita’s key gathering of policymakers and practitioners
will tackle all sides of the complex and, at times,
controversial data sharing policies and issues. Real
examples of how data sharing is evolving across all
areas of the public sector will inspire and provide you
with invaluable knowledge and guidance to take back
to your organisation.
Chaired by Penny Hill, Information Strategy Manager
of Social Care, Warwickshire County Council and
Board Member of National Information Governance
Board of Health and Social Care, our expert speakers
include:
· Stephen McCartney, Head of Data Protection
Promotion, ICO
· Rosemary Jay, Partner, Pinsent Masons,
· Craig Pollard, Head of Partner Development,
CESG
· Michael Eaton, Director of e-Wales & Head of
Public Sector Broadband Aggregation, Welsh Assembly
Government
· Helen Miriam, e-CAF Co-ordinator, Wandsworth
Council
Benefits of Attending include:
Learn how the ICO’s new framework Code of Practice
can benefit your organisation
Gain expert legal advice on privacy and confidentiality
issues and understand the use of privacy impact assessments
Improve your understanding of information sharing
developments within Children’s Services
Explore network aggregation - linking local authorities
and the health sector
Places can be booked on these events either by filling
out and returning the booking form on the final page
of the conference brochure, or by e-mailing the delegate
details directly to dave.eastman@capita.co.uk.
Alternatively you can book online by clicking here and
using Booking Reference Code TSDE.
THE BOOKING REFERENCE CODE IS TSDE. YOU
MUST QUOTE THIS WHEN BOOKING.
20. Mental Capacity Act Training
National Care Association is providing a number of
training courses around the country. Each course is
free of charge and open to all, including nonmembers
of NCA.
Speakers include, Nadra Ahmed, Keith Lewin, Sheila
Scott and others. The next two courses will take
place as follows:
Bath Racecourse, Bath on Tuesday 18th March
2008 – 12.30pm - 5.00pm
Leeds University, Leeds on Wednesday 26th March
2008 – 12.30pm - 5.00pm
For further information please click on the link
21. Capita’s 3rd National
Early Intervention for Families At-Risk Conference
Tackling Exclusion and Supporting Change
Friday 28th March 2008 – Central London
Please note that we are now taking bookings on this
popular event, which is CPD Certified and supported
by the NCH and the Children’s Workforce Development
Council. I would be grateful if you could find
the time to read this and also forward it on to colleagues
to whom it may be relevant, especially those
involved in Children’s and Adult Social Work, Family
Intervention, Social Inclusion and Safeguarding Children,
so that all stakeholders are given the opportunity
to attend this important event.
Please click here for further details of this conference.
If you have any problems with the hyperlink,
please e-mail me at dave.eastman@capita.co.uk and
I will send the brochure as an attachment.
Chaired by Angela Sibson, Chief Executive Officer,
National Academy of Parenting Practitioners, our
expert speakers include:
Gill Strachan, Assistant Director, Families Group,
DCSF
Graham Robb, Interim Chair, Youth Justice Board
Hilary Ellam, National Development Manager for
Integrated Working, Children’s Workforce Development
Council
Leandra Box, Strengthening Families, Strengthening
Communities Programme Director, Race Equality
Foundation
The Think Family report, published by the Social
Exclusion Task Force in January 2008, has launched
a comprehensive Early Intervention strategy uniting
services for children, young people, parents and families
to improve outcomes for all.
Attend this event to gain valuable ideas and help parents
in your communities realise and even raise their
expectations of themselves and their children. Benefit
from the opportunity to network with other stakeholders
who share your commitment to delivering an
holistic birth to adult inclusion programme.
Benefits of Attending:
Hear a clear overview of cross-Government strategy
on promoting strong family and community relationships
Discover how parenting support programmes can be
used as an effective Early Intervention tool to redress
entrenched inter-generational problems and increase
uptake of vital public services
Attend dedicated streamed sessions with experts in
your field
Places can be booked on this event either by filling
out and returning the booking form on the final page
of the conference brochure, or by e-mailing the delegate
details directly to dave.eastman@capita.co.uk.
Alternatively you can book online by clicking here and
using Booking Reference Code TSDE.
22. Action on Elder Abuse National Conference
‘Making Changes’ – 31st March & 1st April
University of Warwick
Action on Elder Abuse will be hosting its fifteenth 2
day National Conference in 2008, and it is set to be a
major event in the Health and Social Care calendar.
With a keynote speech by Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary
under-Secretary of State, and speakers to include:
• Dru Sharpling, Crown Prosecution Service
• Ronnie Monks, Department of Health
• Richard Brook, Office of the Public Guardian
• Representatives from the Association of Chief
Police Officers and the Healthcare Commission
Workshops will include subjects on:
• Hate crime
• Deprivation of liberty
• Financial abuse
• Review of ‘No Secrets’
• Domestic violence, elder and vulnerable adult
abuse
• Learning Disabilities and Safeguarding Adults
£220 + VAT for members
£255 + VAT for non-members
A full, detailed programme and booking form will be
available shortly, but to register your interest and request
a booking form, please contact Natalie Fernandez
on natalie@elderabuse.org.uk
23. Capita’s Bi-Annual Conference
The Future of the Adult Social Care Workforce
Monday 28th April 2008 – Central London
Please note that we are now taking bookings on this
event, which is CPD Certified and supported by the
General Social Care Council and the Social Care
Institute for Excellence. I would be grateful if you
could find the time to read this and also forward it on
to colleagues to whom it may be relevant, especially
those involved in HR/Personnel, Adult Social Care
Management, Recruitment and Workforce Development,
so that all stakeholders have a chance to attend
this timely event.
Please click here to download a copy of the conference
brochure in pdf format, which includes a full list
of speakers, an agenda for the day and a booking
form. If you have any problems with the hyperlink,
please e-mail me at dave.eastman@capita.co.uk and
I will send the brochure as an attachment.
Chaired by Anne Williams, Immediate Past President,
Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
(ADASS), our expert speakers include:
David Behan, Director General for Social Care,
Department of Health
Mike Wardle, Chief Executive, General Social
Care Council
Elaine Cass, Practice Development Manager,
Social Care Institute for Excellence
Patricia Kearney, Director of Practice Development,
Social Care Institute for Excellence
Dr Philippa Russell, Chair, Standing Commission
on Carers
John Dermody, Head of Adult Social Care
(Commissioning), Borough of Poole
This timely and important event will enable you to
keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape of
adult social care. It is designed to keep you informed
of progress, and includes advice and guidance from
high-achieving authorities on ensuring excellent provision
for all adults in your area. Take away the
knowledge to make your workforce a model of best
practice.
Benefits of attending include:
Get a crucial update on the Green Paper on social
care funding and discuss the future of the
adult social care workforce
Hear about progress on regulation, registration
and workforce development
Learn how to improve recruitment and retention
in your area
Consider the challenges and opportunities of the
personalisation agenda, the way forward
for self care and Individual Budgets
Understand how the new National Minimum
Data Set information gathering will ultimately
affect local workforce development
Take away advice, guidance and best practice
examples on consulting service users and
workforce solutions that have led to real
change and improvement in service provision
Places can be booked on this event either by filling
out and returning the booking form on the final page
of the conference brochure, or by e-mailing the delegate
details directly to dave.eastman@capita.co.uk.
Alternatively you can book online by clicking here and
using Booking Reference Code TSDE.
We offer discounts for Block Bookings of 3 delegates
or more, please call me direct on 0207 808
5309 for more details.
THE BOOKING REFERENCE CODE IS TSDE. YOU
MUST QUOTE THIS WHEN BOOKING.
24. Department of Health Seminar on Mental
Health Commissioning: 7 May 2008
This letter gives advance notice of a one-day seminar
on 7 May 2008 at the Victoria Park Plaza Hotel in
London, focusing on world-class commissioning, integrated
mental health commissioning and mental
health priorities.
For full report click here
25. SHOWUCARE Event
There is a SHOWUCARE event being held in Tonbridge
on the 15th May.
This event is aimed at managers and operators of
care homes and agencies together with associated
care professionals based in the South East of England.
With no other event being held in the South
East SHOWUCARE TONBRIDGE offers an excellent
opportunity to meet face to face with decision makers
of some of the 6000 care services in the region.
The opportunity exists for companies to join the growing
list of market leaders exhibiting at the event. Companies
such as Boots The Chemist, Lloyds TSB, Capita
Care, CFS Carpets, Cool Blue and Training and
Care Solutions are already sign up to the show. The
state of the art River Centre will host the event and
the quality business environment aids prestige to the
showcasing of products and services.
As a key player in the sector we thought that some of
you might be interested in joining us for the event.
Further details including a tour of the venue can be
found on www.showucare.org
Consultations
To follow next week
CSCI, CSSIW, Healthcare
Commission &
Scottish Care Commission
26. Dame Denise Platt wins Public Servant of
the Year 2008
28 February 2008 – CSCI
CSCI Chair, Dame Denise Platt has been named
Public Servant of the Year in the Dods and Scottish
Widows Women in Public Life Awards for 2008.
The Awards celebrate women leaders in society, and
recognises and promotes the work of women in politics,
business, the civil service and community leadership.
For full report click here
27. Criticism over county social care
28 February 2008 – BBC News
A draft report by CSCI reveals that more needs to be
done for the protection of vulnerable adults in Cornwall.
The report followed an abuse scandal at Budock
Hospital and the murder of Steven Hoskin in
2006.
CSCI said while Cornwall County Council had made
some improvements, there remained a number of
areas of concern, including assessments of need,
the council has refused to comment on the findings.
For full report click here
28. Healthcare Commission issues improvement
notice to Ipswich Hospitals NHS Trust
over decontamination equipment
27 February 2008 – Healthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission has issued an improvement
notice to the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, requiring
it to make changes to its infection control
practices.
For full report go to http://www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/
n e w s a n d e v e n t s / p r e s s r e l e a s e s . c f m ?
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che=false
29. Consultation - Single Equality & Diversity
Scheme
26 February 2008 – SCRC
The Scottish Care Commission has drafted a Single
Equality & Diversity Scheme and would appreciate
your views and comments on the Scheme by taking
their online survey.
For full report click here
30. Guidance on Overnight Stays for Looked
After and Accommodated Children
26 February 2008 – SCRC
The Scottish Government has published guidance on
overnight stays for children in care as part of implementing
Getting it Right for Every Child in kinship and
foster care and their commitments to supporting
every looked after and accommodated child.
For full report click here
31. Over regulated, under-rated?
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Sheila Scott, CEO of NCA, asks has any sector had
three regulators in six years?
Ed. I have news for Sheila, it will be four:
• Local authorities
• National Care Standards Commission
• Commission for Social Care Inspection
• Care Quality Commission (proposed)
Education
32. New in-house Academy
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
A new UK-wide training organisation has been
launched, The Care Training and Skills Academy, to
deliver the full range of mandatory and nonmandatory
training and skills.
Free information and DVD available 0845 643 2643
or at www.ctsa-franchise.co.uk
Ireland, Scotland & Wales
Ireland
Nothing to report
Scotland
33. Student's Tests Blast MRSA Bug
1 March 2008 – Evening Times
Two Glasgow students are trying to help Scots hospitals
win their battle against the deadly MRSA superbug.
In a pioneering project in Scotland, Jennifer Quern
and Scott Tsuro have proved that a commonly used
hospital antiseptic disinfectant is effective against
known strains of the bug.
The pair are testing the disinfectant, which is not currently
used to tackle MRSA, on a range of lesser
known but equally dangerous hospital-acquired infections.
Their final findings will be fed back to infection control
specialists in the NHS to help shape future control
procedures in hospitals.
34. Former health chiefs lied to MSPs
29 February 2008 – BBC News
According to evidence uncovered by BBC Scotland,
two former members of Western Isles NHS board
were found to have lied to the Scottish Parliament's
audit committee. The individuals were asked by
MSPs whether they had seen a report into serious
failings in financial reporting. Both said that they had
not. However, other Board members have since
confirmed that both men attended a specially convened
meeting to discuss the report.
For full report click here
35. Elderly care shake-up to save city £26m .
. and cost 750 jobs
28 February 2008 – Scottish Care
The council is planning to use a "re-ablement" programme,
originally piloted in Scandinavia which
would shake up home care of the elderly and infirm to
save the city council £26 million but cost 750 jobs.
The scheme has also proved popular in England.
Elderly people leaving hospital will be given six
weeks of intensive support to get them as near to
self-sufficiency as they can get.
For full report click here
36. Under threat A&E units retained
27 February 2008 – BBC News
The Government has announced that the casualty
units in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire will be retained and
expanded.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told Parliament she
had accepted health board plans for retaining the
units. A previous decision to close them initiated a
huge storm of protest from local residents and
groups.
For full report click here
37. Waiting lists at 'all-time low'
26 February 2008 – BBC News
Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon has announced an
all-new low in waiting lists for hospital treatment in
Scotland.
Ms Sturgeon said the new NHS statistics, which
showed patients were being treated more quickly
than ever before, was a "tremendous achievement".
For full report click here
38. NHS Experts Oppose Plan To Centralise
Care
25 February 2008 – The Herald
A panel of experts has rejected a plan to centralise
care, which means that brain surgery services are to
be kept in hospitals across Scotland.
The case for cutting the number of units, which
threatened the status of several high-profile hospitals,
was overturned with the publication of the official report
into the proposal.
The review for the Scottish Government gave another
blow to the centralising agenda within the NHS.
Wales
39. Hospital parking 'a tax on sick'
27 February 2008 – BBC News
The British Medical Association (BMA) is claiming
that hospital car park charges are “a tax on the sick”
and is demanding they be scrapped altogether.
Welsh Assembly Government figures show that NHS
trusts took £5.4m last year, but the figure does not
include private firms running car parks on their behalf.
Hospitals say money is needed to cover maintenance
and security and any surplus goes to patient care.
For full report click here
Learning Disabilities
40. Should we use plastic surgery to make
our Down’s daughter beautiful like us?
We’re having to cope with ignorance something
that we were guilty of, too
2 March 2008 – The Mail on Sunday
In this three page article the Kirwin family, which includes
a world renowned plastic surgeon, set out
some of their prejudices following the birth of their
daughter who has Down’s syndrome. They have
raised for themselves the dilemma of whether their
daughter should, after the age of 18 yrs, undergo
cosmetic surgery.
Legislation Update
41. No. 462 The European Qualifications
(Health and Social Care Professions)
(Amendment) Regulations 2008
28 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
42. Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
(Northern Ireland) 2008 c.2
27 February 2008
For full legislation click here
43. No. 57 (C.7)The Vulnerable Witnesses
(Scotland) Act 2004 (Commencement No. 7,
Savings and Transitional Provisions) Order
2008
27 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
44. No. 60 The National Health Service
(Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity
Scheme) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations
2008
27 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
45. No. 49 (C.6) The Adult Support and Protection
(Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement
No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Order
2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
46. No. 50 The Adult Support and Protection
(Scotland) Act 2007 (Adults with Incapacity)
(Consequential Provisions) Order 2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
47. No. 51 The Adults with Incapacity
(Accounts and Funds) (Scotland) Regulations
2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
48. No. 52 The Adults with Incapacity (Public
Guardian’s Fees) (Scotland) Regulations
2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
49. No. 53 The Adults with Incapacity (Recall
of Guardians' Powers) (Scotland) Amendment
Regulations 2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
50. No. 55 The Adults with Incapacity
(Reports in Relation to Guardianship and Intervention
Orders) (Scotland) Amendment
Regulations 2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
51. No. 56 The Adults with Incapacity
(Certificates in Relation to Powers of Attorney)
(Scotland) Regulations 2008
26 February 2008 – OPSI
For full legislation click here
Mental Health
52. Elderly mental health beds moving
28 February 2008 – BBC News
Great Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust
has announced it will shut two wards it calls “unfit” to
transfer 26 beds. The beds will be those patients with
dementia or depression and will be to Carlton Court
near Lowesoft in Suffolk.
The Trust also plans to deliver more health services
at home, which will save £1.2m.
For full report click here
53. Deep clean on mental health units
25 February 2008 – BBC News
The Department of Health has given a grant of
£440,000 to pay for a “deep clean” at mental health
units in Lincoln. Vents, radiators, walls and carpets
will be cleaned at the wards run by the Lincolnshire
Partnership NHS Trust. The cleaning programme is
expected to be finished by July.
For full report click here
Miscellaneous
55. Doctor training row
29 February 2008 - The Times
The Government’s response to the inquiry into medical
training by offering to create just 300 extra training
places has angered junior doctors.
56. GP contract 'a bad deal for NHS'
28 February 2008 – BBC News
A report by the National Audit Office has found that
productivity has fallen, despite the new GP contract
in England costing the Government £1.76bn more
than predicted in its first three years.
The spending watchdog said that primary care trusts
had not used powers to force better access for patients
but a health minister reiterated that the contract
had helped stem a "haemorrhage" of GPs from
the NHS.
For full report click here
57. NHS dentist access 'gets harder'
28 February 2008 – BBC News
New figures released by the NHS Information Centre
shows that the government's reforms of NHS dentist
care in England do not seem to have improved access.
Over 500,000 fewer patients were seen in the last
two years, compared to the 24 months before the
introduction of a new contract in 2006.
For full report click here
58. Response to the independent inquiry into
modernising medical careers
28 February 2008 – DoH
The Secretary of State for Health’s response to the
recommendations of the independent inquiry into
modernising medical careers. Many recommendations
have been met with a direct response; whereas
others are substantial and require further work to develop
them ahead of implementation.
For full report click here
59. Veteran wins fight for NHS sight treatment
28 February 2008 – The Daily Telegraph
War veteran, Jack Tagg has won his battle for NHS
treatment for his failing eyesight.
He has now pledged to continue the fight for other
people. He put his house on the market to fund his
treatment because his local health trust said he did
not meet the NHS criteria for treating his age-related
macular degeneration.
For previous report see BHCR Vol 3, Issue 8 - item 60
60. NHS contracts ‘rubbish’
26 February 2008 - Metro
Mr Justice Collins sitting in the High Court described
the regulations imposed by the NHS on dentists as
‘rubbish’ and that understanding them was like
“...going through a marsh, trying to leap from tussock
to tussock...”
61. The pressure of double standards?
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Martin Green, CEO of ECCA, compares and contrasts
the double standard of do as I say, not as I do
exemplified by government in its double standards of
requiring mortals to meet deadlines while they are
allowed to sidestep the consequences.
62. New technology for Southern Cross
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
CareBlox CheckIT is being introduced into all Southern
Cross care homes; it is a hand-held device which
uses bar code scanning to allow staff to quickly record
night checks including info about service users,
their location, bed position, fluid intake, medication
and so on.
More info www.CareBlox.com
63. Reduce, Remove, Resolve
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Tom Welland of Fireco looks at issues of managing
fire precautions.
64. Coping with 2008
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Insurance expert David Waters looks at the challenges
facing the sector from an insurers perspective
and introduces a new insurance product for care providers.
65. Cash and the healthcare business – part 3
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Bob Gorton of HARD Hat Corporate Finance identifies
potential sources of finance for care businesses.
NHS
66. Johnson wants 'personalised' NHS
2 March 2008 – BBC News
Health Secretary, Alan Johnson looks set to outline
plans to turn the English NHS into a more
“personalised” service. He is expected to tell Labour’s
spring conference in Birmingham that the days
of a “one-size-fits-all” NHS are over and people
should be given more choice.
He will also repeat his pledge for GPs to open at
weekends and evenings.
For full report click here
67. Foreign GPs flown in for one in ten areas
1 March 2008 - The Times
PCTs have spent more than £1m on flying foreign
doctors to the UK to cover the out of hours care.
68. Hospitals ask Poles to fill locum shifts as
reforms worsen shortage
1 March 2008 - The Times
Hospitals are seeking locum doctors for emergency
shifts from overseas.
69. NHS facing locum doctor shortage
29 March 2008 – BBC News
A leaked Government memo shows that the NHS in
England is facing problems recruiting locum hospital
doctors.
The document was obtained by the Health Service
Journal, and it stated that some trusts were even
having difficulties getting applicants to attend interviews.
Apparently the problem is caused by changes in junior
doctor training as young medics are generally
used to fill the locum posts.
For full report click here
70. Huge rise in number of superbug deaths
29 February 2008 - The Times
The number of death certificates mentioning C. difficile
increased in the year 2005-06 by 72% to
6,480. C. Diff. caused 55,000 infections last
year. Deaths involving MRSA remained steady.
71. Health plans will mean cuts, Osborne
says
29 February 2008 - The Times
Andrew Lansley MP, Shadow Health Secretary, said
that health spending was bound to rise as a proportion
of GDP, possibly 11% if one accepted the
Wanlass predictions. George Osborne MP, Shadow
Chancellor, acknowledged that other public services
would have to be cut in order to fund health spending
under a conservative government.
72. Contract was a windfall for GPs but ‘not a
good deal for patients’
28 February 2008 - The Times
The National Audit Office has delivered its verdict on
the ‘new’ GP contract and pronounced that it did not
represent good value. There were some positives,
the loss of GPs was reversed and patients’ time with
their GP increased by 50% to 12 minutes.
73. Tories predict rising NHS spend
28 February 2008 – BBC News
The Conservatives have declared their commitment
to a real terms increase in health spending over the
next few decades. Senior party figures denied they
were tied to huge unfunded spending commitments.
For full report click here
74. NHS care pleas after peer's death
28 February 2008 – BBC News
Shadow Commons leader, Theresa May has raised
concerns about the NHS care of a disabled hereditary
peer who died in a Berkshire hospital. The claims will
be referred to the Health Secretary.
For full report click here
75. Dramatic rise in C. diff deaths
28 February 2008 – BBC News
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics
show that the number of deaths linked to hospital bug
Clostridium difficile has risen dramatically in England
and Wales.
Between 2005 and 2006 the number of death certificates
which mentioned the infection rose by 72% to
6,480, most of whom were elderly people, and in over
half the cases, it was listed as the underlying cause of
death.
For full report click here
76. Prescription charge review call
27 February 2008 – BBC News
The Citizens Advice Bureau is calling for prescriptions
charges in England to be reviewed as thousands of
people are not collecting medicines because of cost.
A poll of 880 people revealed that 2% were put off by
the price - a total of 800,000 if the proportion were
repeated across the whole of England.
Wales has already introduced free prescriptions while
Scotland has promised to follow its lead. Ministers in
England are still refusing to drop the £6.85 charge.
For full report click here
77. Tories seek to set the spending pace on
NHS spending
27 February 2008 - The Times
Andrew Lansley MP said that there would be an increase
in spending on the NHS under a Conservative
government.
78. Break-even for debt-hit NHS trust
26 February 2008 – BBC News
Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Trust look set
to break even for the first time in years. The trust still
has £20m in historic debt but the Department for
Health agreed last year that it would be put to one
side to allow the trust to tackle its annual budget.
For full report click here
79. Calls for new hospital 'ignored'
26 February 2008 – BBC News
Hosham MP, Francis Maude has accused health
bosses of ignoring thousands of people in West Sussex
who were hoping for a new hospital after a
healthcare review.
The MP appealed to West Sussex Primary Care
Trust (PCT) to look again at the decision to rule out a
new hospital in the Horsham area.
For full report click here
80. No faith in foundations?
26 February. 2008 - The Times, Public Agenda
The tension between the DoH and Foundation Trusts
which are supposed to be free from Whitehall control
is surfacing. Sue Slipman, director of Foundation
Trusts Network has said that the regulator, Monitor,
is at risk of becoming little more than a “conveyor
belt” for DoH policies. Bill Moyes, exec chairman of
Monitor, foundation trusts of his unease at the
“directive” and “instructive” tone of correspondence
from the DoH to foundation trusts.
81. NHS trust defends 150% pay rise
26 February 2008 – BBC News
A hospital trust has defended its decision to award its
three-day-a-week chairman, Russell Hart, a 150%
pay rise.
His salary will be boosted from £20,000 to £50,000
after a meeting of the governors North Tees and Hartlepool
NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust's chief executive
said the increase was "appropriate" after the
trust was granted foundation status.
For full report click here
Nursing
82. Nurses: we do seduce patients
2 March 2008 - The Sunday Times
Item which says Nursing Times reports 10% of
nurses think starting a relationship with a patient is
acceptable. Nurses could be struck off the register
for starting such relationships – the Council for
Healthcare Regulatory Excellence issued new guidance
in January 2008 reminding nurses of the possible
consequences of having sexual relationships with
patients and former patients.
For the earlier story, see BHCR Vol 3, Issue 4 item 43.
83. Nurses denounced as dirty, lazy drunks
1 March 2008 - The Times
Grubby, drunken, promiscuous and
lazy...what a Conservative peer branded his
NHS nurses
29 February 2008 - BBC Radio 4, Today
1 March 2008 - Daily Mail
Anger over 'grubby nurses' slur
29 February 2008 – BBC News
'Grubby' nurses slammed by peer
28 February 2008 – BBC News
Tory peer Lord Mancroft delivered a scathing attack
on some nurses in the NHS based on observations
during his treatment last year in Royal United Hospital,
Bath. He was anxious to point out that there were
some very good nurses too.
For BBC report click here
For 2nd BBC report click here
Older People
84. End of life strategy must ensure dignity
says Help the Aged
27 February 2008 – NCF
Marie Curie Cancer Care is calling for another £2m a
year to help it extend a scheme which has more than
doubled the number of people spending their last
days at home.
Paul Cann, Director of Policy and External Relations
at Help the Aged said:
"Help the Aged believe that wherever you die, you
should be able to do so with dignity.
"We have long campaigned for older people to be
allowed to make informed choices about
their own end-of-life care, and location of death is
central to this.”
"The government's forthcoming end-of-life strategy
must ensure that the final period of
life, wherever it is spent, is not marred by poor support
and a lack of dignity.”
"Although everyone in the UK is entitled to to free palliative
care at home, services across the
UK are patchy at best.”
For full report click here
85. Elderly care 'set to deteriorate'
26 February 2008 – BBC News
Age Concern: Sure Start for older people has
stalled
26 February 2008 – Community Care
Age Concern England has expressed its fears that
elderly care services could go from “bad to worse”
unless the Government takes steps to overhaul the
system and provide more money.
The charity said that despite the government's positive
vision for social care, it had yet to "fully grasp the
nettle" of the problem of care for the elderly.
The government has pledged an extra £520m over
the next three years.
For BBC report click here
For CC report click here
86. Builders bemoan ‘age-friendly’ housing
26 February 2008 - Financial Times
All new homes must be elderly friendly
26 February 2008 - Daily Mail
The Government has loftily announced that by 2011
all new homes will have to meet 16 specifications to
meet needs of an aging population. Builders have
said that the extra cost of compliance will impede the
Government’s target of building 3m new homes by
2020.
Ed. Clearly this is part of the Government’s plan
of keeping people in their own home as they
age. However, as an ‘innocent’ looking at the
Emperor I say he is naked as the day he was
born – How will it be possible to enable huge
numbers of people, perhaps the majority of older
people to have a good quality of life living at
home, suffering ill-health, infirmity, dementia and
so on, more cheaply than living in care homes?
87. Depravation of liberty safeguards – a new
regulatory framework for care homes
February 2008 - Healthcare Business
Stuart Marchant looks at some of the issues which
will arise under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
soon to be introduced by the DoH.
88. New homes 'must cater for ageing'
25 February 2008 – BBC News
Under new plans being revealed by the Government,
every new home built in England will have to be designed
to suit an ageing population, to include 16 features
such as stairs wide enough for stairlifts, downstairs
bathrooms, and room for wheelchairs to turn.
For full report click here
Social Care
89. Innovators in social care
29 February 2008 – NCF
A look at a ‘Dragon’s Den’ day for social care outfits
bidding for £150,000 to take away and implement
their innovative ideas.
For full report click here
90. Skills for Care conference debates personalisation
29 February 2008 – NCF
Delegates at the Skills for Care national conference
hosted a heated debate on how a social care sector
delivering greater personalised care might look.
For full report click here
91. Skills for Care backs national social care
Apprenticeship Week
25 February 2008 – NCF
Skills for Care has announced its backing for national
social care Apprenticeship Week launched today as
completion rates for young apprentices in the sector
soar.
For full report click here
Staff, employment and
disciplinary
92. £10,000 fines for employing illegal migrant
without check
29 February 2008 - The Times
Highly skilled migrants from outside the EU will have
to meet a new points based system being introduced
by the Home Office. However, from 29.02.08 employers
who hire illegal immigrants face fines of
£10,000 and unlimited fines if the employer acts
knowingly, and even imprisonment.
The state - a hypocritical
parent?
“Do as I say!” is often the cry of an exasperated
parent desperately trying to curb the behaviour
of an errant child. The advice or instruction will no
doubt have been provided from the best of motives.
In the family context though, such injunctions can
rarely be administered without challenge particularly
if the children are above the toddler stage. Assuming
the child is beyond the “why” and grunt stages
there is nothing worse for the parent than the child
pointing out any apparent hypocrisy.
In my childhood my father would often tell us tales of
his teenage jolly japes and the scrapes he got into
whilst at the same time imposing very tight restrictions
on me and my brothers’ freedoms. My father
seemed to go through many rites of passage including
tying two adjacent front doors together and then
knocking on both of them to see the neighbours
struggling to open them. How they must have
laughed in Castletown! He was also into shooting
seagulls and painting the handles of a tradesman’s
handcart with non-drying paint. My wife’s family has
the story of her grandfather as a child stalking the
outside toilets of his street clasping nettles which he
would thrust under the door of the privy into the exposed
flesh of the hapless incumbent.
Now today of course this sort of behaviour would
bring all manner of responses including Asbos, reprimands,
cautions, prosecutions and the dreaded
parenting classes. I’m not saying this isn’t appropriate,
as one of the major differences between now
and previous generations is that our parents and
grandparents grew up and didn’t repeat the offending
behaviour as they graduated into the world of work.
However, I do believe that the approach taken by the
state in regulating business all too often smacks of
the hypocritical parent – and a parent that remembers,
or perhaps would rather forget - the offences it
committed years before. That said, in my view the
hypocrisy extends to a failure to comply with the law
and regulations which the state imposes on the private
sector.
Let’s remember the abuses, scandals and calumnies
committed on the watch of and under the eyes of the
state in its children’s’ homes, its care homes as recently
as the 1970s and 80s, all too recently in the
news following the revelations at Haut de la Garenne,
Jersey. And then there was the too long pervasive
Crown Immunity that protected the NHS from complying
with basic health and safety law until the 1990s.
We now also have the ticking time-bomb of equal pay
undercutting local authorities.
So, who would have thought it that the chain of wellintentioned
legislation that started in the 1970s with
the Equal Pay Act would end up seriously undermining
local government – and in particular the remaining
care homes run by them. The idea of men and
women being paid the same, for the same job was
relatively quickly accepted, although not without protest.
What has taken far longer to understand and to
apply is the principle of equivalency between different
jobs, where each of the job types were traditionally
undertaken by one gender or the other – for example,
what in my day were called ‘school dinner ladies’ –
each job being paid the same as that for a different
job classified as equivalent work.
Local authorities have been hoisted by the petard of
comparing refuse collectors with care workers, cleaners
with refuse collectors. Almost without exception
the better paid work were jobs traditionally undertaken
by men, but now Town Halls up and down the
country are having to introduce revised pay arrangements
to ensure that each gender is treated the same
for equivalent work. The trade unions would like this
pay movement to be upwards only – bringing
‘women’s’ pay up to that of ‘men’s’ but that simply
cannot be afforded. So our local government mandarins
are attempting to cut the pay for some of the
male unskilled workforce whilst offering women less
than they had hoped for. Unsurprisingly we are heading
for strikes and industrial action.
For local government this is bad enough – but when
you add to this the compounding effect of countless
women bringing claims for being under paid for years
the bill for local government to rectify its failure to implement
equal pay law properly runs into billions of
pounds.
As a tax payer I resent the prospect of having to pay
more in my taxes to remedy the wrongs caused by
incompetence at local and national government. Why
didn’t the Government step in years ago and get local
government to pay its staff appropriately – but then
Andrew Dawson
government hasn’t got itself in order either. Why didn’t
Town Hall bosses understand that people should
be paid the same for equivalent work? I have some
sympathy for the bosses running local authority care
homes – why would they think about the equivalent
jobs of refuse collection and highways maintenance?
But what are the HR departments and Chief Executives
of councils up and down the land paid to do?
So where do I end up with all this? To my mind, irrespective
of political ideology, the state in all its guises
simply isn’t up to the task of running businesses and
services directly. Service delivery is far better done
by the private sector and in some cases bought and
paid for, or enabled by the state. I have always been
impressed by the fact that when the British Empire
was at its height and we were on the teeth of war in
1914 the civil service numbered only 280,000.
How about less meddling and more enabling?
To discuss anything arising from this article or
any of the matters touched upon contact Andrew
Dawson at andrew.dawson@brunswicks.eu or
telephone him on 0870 766 8400