'Dignity' inspections in hundreds of care homes within weeks
A team of inspectors is to be sent into hundreds of care homes within to check whether elderly people are being treated with dignity. ...
View Full Story >>

---

Better Life project allows older people to tell it like it is
New initiative aims to counteract the stereotype of older people as dependents or burdens by putting their testimonies online...
View Full Story >>

---

Healthcare timebomb as pensioner numbers rocket
Pensioners now spend almost half of their retirement in ill-health, according to official figures, intensifying the pressure on the Government to solve the elderly care crisis. ...
View Full Story >>

---

GPs 'to prescribe health apps'
GPs could soon offer their patients free smartphone apps to help with managing health conditions....
View Full Story >>

---

Call for Dignity Code to protect elderly patients
Nurses and care workers should sign a Dignity Code guaranteeing that elderly patients are treated with respect, say a group of politicians and charities....
View Full Story >>

---

Highcliffe Nursing Home reduces 'death notice'
A Dorset nursing home has announced it will no longer charge for a four-week notice period after a resident's death....
View Full Story >>

---

Nairn and Ardersier GP-led study on care plans
Greater anticipation of the medical care needed by vulnerable people could bring major benefits to patients and save money, according to a new study....
View Full Story >>

---

Care Home developers set to create 300 jobs
Two former care home developers have launched their own company, in a move which will create over 300 jobs across the UK. ...
View Full Story >>

---

Care home orders grieving daughter to pay £3,000… because she didn't give 28 days' notice of her father's DEATH
Sue Cann received the bill for the outstanding care bill the day after her father Kenneth's funeral....
View Full Story >>

---

Four Seasons care homes in talks with new investors
Four Seasons, Britain's biggest care homes operator, is in talks with potential new equity investors to help the business grapple with its crippling debt burden....
View Full Story >>

---

Animals make nursing home living easier
When Tolema Boblitt was looking for an assisted living center for herself and her husband, she had one important condition. Their cat, Calico, had to be able to come with them....
View Full Story >>

---

OAPs Go Surfing at a Care Home
CARE home residents can catch up with friends and family at any time of the day or night thanks to the use of new specialist computers....
View Full Story >>

---

Having a Curry Could Help Ward Off Dementia
Eating curry once or twice a week could stave off dementia, research suggests....
View Full Story >>

---

Care for elderly 'let down by fragmented system'
Older people are being let down by a social care system in which they are "passed like a parcel" between services, a committee of MPs has said. ...
View Full Story >>

---

Care stepped up for the elderly.
WITH one of the highest proportions of elderly patients in the entire country, a number of projects are under way at Scarborough Hospital to ensure older people receive the best possible care. ...
View Full Story >>

---

Our vulnerable elderly are being treated like cattle. The private sector can help.
...
View Full Story >>

---

Care home meals costing just £2.27 a day are branded a 'national disgrace'
Some care homes are spending as little as £2.27 a day on food for each resident – less than the price of a medium-sized coffee on the high street....
View Full Story >>

---

Cancer Drug Offers Hope on Alzheimer's
A SKIN cancer drug may reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease, tests have revealed....
View Full Story >>

---

Four Seasons: Care Home Provider in New Debt Talks
The UK's largest care home provider, which bought many of the Southern Cross properties, has said it is in talks to raise money to pay its debts....
View Full Story >>

---

New Council Warning Over Costs of Care for the Elderly
It's a political and financial worry for all of us; just how do we pay for our loved ones who need residential care?...
View Full Story >>

---

Trading Standards Monitors Care Home Food
Trading Standards officers in Warwickshire have been monitoring meal quality at 10 nursing and care homes....
View Full Story >>

---

Elderly 'suffer as social care spending cut'
Spending on social care for the elderly in England is falling this year - despite the assurances of ministers, an analysis by campaigners suggests....
View Full Story >>

---

Over-55s don't want to pay for long-term care
From The Guardian: An Avivia survey finds that the over-55s are 'terrified' of the potential bill for long-term care and believe the state should cover the costs...
View Full Story >>

---

Social worker vacancy rates down across Britain
Social worker vacancy rates in councils across Britain have fallen despite the squeeze on recruitment and retention budgets, Community Care can reveal....
View Full Story >>

---

DoH: Improving dementia care
NHS Memory Services receive £10 million injection....
View Full Story >>

---

DoH: Caring for our future
Experts have been enlisted to help the Government’s discussions on how to improve the care system in England, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced recently....
View Full Story >>

---

NHS chiefs watch care at ex-Southern Cross homes
HEALTH bosses say they are keeping a close eye on care home residents after Britain’s largest care home provider almost collapsed amid financial turmoil....
View Full Story >>

---

Care home operator expands with move into specialist market
CARE home group Maria Mallaband is set to buy two homes which specialise in caring for people with autism as it expands its operations around the UK...
View Full Story >>

---

USA News: Video cameras in nursing homes
Families using video cameras in nursing homes to protect loved ones...
View Full Story >>

---

CQC report reveals private sector standards
The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual State of Care report has painted a positive picture of the UK’s 2,500 independent hospitals and clinics. ...
View Full Story >>

---

Concern over quality of Cornwall's care homes
A campaign group fighting for better standards of elder care in Cornwall's care homes said more needs to be done....
View Full Story >>

---

Older internet users just as competent as younger
Older internet users are challenging younger ones when it comes to using technology, according to Age UK....
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: Southern Cross set to shut down and stop running homes
Landlords owning all 752 care homes in the Southern Cross Group have said they want to leave the group....
View Full Story >>

---

Social care revamp: Pressure on to find money
The government is under pressure to consider tax rises and further spending cuts to find the money to pay for the overhaul of social care....
View Full Story >>

---

Dilnot presents an indisputable case for reforming care funding
The government must now act on the recommendations for financing older peoples care...
View Full Story >>

---

£6 million to support big society in health and social care
First ever DH Volunteering Fund National Awards announced today by the Department of Health....
View Full Story >>

---

Southern Cross slashes rent to avoid mass care home closure
Experts warn that care home provider could soon collapse into administration...
View Full Story >>

---

Four arrests after patient abuse caught on film
Police in Bristol have arrested four people after secret filming by BBC Panorama found a pattern of serious abuse at a residential hospital....
View Full Story >>

---

Research links genes to arthritis
Scientists have identified at least seven genes that account for the development of a type of arthritis which affects up to one million people in Britain....
View Full Story >>

---

Age UK publishes damning report on the care crisis
Age UK have published a damning report, which shows the depth of the crisis in social care and its consequent human cost....
View Full Story >>

---

Latest links to CQC Hospital Inspections story
Links to the headlines on the CQC hospital inspections...
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: Derriford Hospital's elderly care 'respects dignity'
Care of elderly people at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth is meeting legal standards, a report has concluded....
View Full Story >>

---

C4 News: Elderly care standards - 3 health trusts break law
As inspectors raise serious concerns about care for the elderly in some NHS hospitals, one woman tells Channel 4 News that the care her 96-year-old mother received was "abominable"....
View Full Story >>

---

Elderly people should take up T'ai Chi, say academics
Elderly people should take up the gentle martial art of T’ai Chi for the sake of their physical and mental health, according to academics....
View Full Story >>

---

Mental health experts have developed a free online quiz to detect early signs of Alzheimer's disease
The 15-minute interactive test is aimed at people aged 50 to 70 who are worried about memory decline....
View Full Story >>

---

Cameron stands firm on NHS changes to 'avoid crisis'
David Cameron has said the NHS in England needs to change to avoid a "future crisis" as he sought to rally support for a controversial shake-up....
View Full Story >>

---

Welsh call for new care crackdown
A campaign has been launched to give government care inspectors greater powers to stop local authorities flouting statutory guidance....
View Full Story >>

---

Report on liberty safeguards published by Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission today (15 March) publishes its first monitoring report on the implementation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which protect the rights of people in care homes and hospitals who lack the mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment....
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: New system uses brain scans to spot early Alzheimer's
Scientists say early tests show the new technique is 85% accurate and can deliver results in just 24 hours....
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: Drugs for heartbeat problem may cut dementia risk
Treating stroke survivors for a heartbeat problem called atrial fibrillation (AF) might prevent many patients from going on to develop dementia...
View Full Story >>

---

Fire Safety Guidance
for Residential Care Premises Operators...
View Full Story >>

---

The Future of Dementia Care
A review of the Question Time Seminar on 11th February...
View Full Story >>

---

CQC today announced plans to develop a new scheme to recognise excellence in adult social care
The scheme – set to be launched in April 2012 – will be CQC-owned, but delivered by other organisations under licence....
View Full Story >>

---

NEW REPORT PREDICTS SHORTFALL OF 100,000 CARE HOME BEDS BY 2020
Calls for immediate ring-fencing of council funding for care of older people. NHS faces bed-blocking crisis if homes are forced to close....
View Full Story >>

---

Rocking Ron raises the roof and lots of cash for Kirsten
A teenager forgot her pain and danced in her wheelchair on the happiest night of her life....
View Full Story >>

---

Innovation in Forensic Mental Health
The Priory Group is holding an ‘Innovation in Forensic Mental Health’ conference for health professionals across the medical sector, showcasing expert and specialist speakers....
View Full Story >>

---

AGEUK: More people to pay for care homes
Funding decisions made by the Government will see more older people forced to pay for care homes, it has been revealed....
View Full Story >>

---

AGEUK: Eating berries may lower risk of Parkinson's
New research shows men and women who regularly eat berries may have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease....
View Full Story >>

---

Councils slash social care managers to save £35m
Three Tory-led London boroughs will slash management posts across children's and adults' services by creating single departments for both, as part of moves to save £35m....
View Full Story >>

---

Care homes set to raise fees after landmark judgement
Councils will face more pressure to increase fees for care providers after a landmark legal ruling forced an authority to raise its rates....
View Full Story >>

---

Carewatch enhances capital presence with extensive acquisition
Leading home care provider acquires London franchise Graham Home Care....
View Full Story >>

---

Increased care home fees may not be enough
Independent care homes who won a landmark High Court victory may have to resort to a second court battle....
View Full Story >>

---

Christine Ferrier: An Appreciation
It is with enormous sadness that National Care Association has announced that one of its Board Members and former Vice Chairman Mrs. Christine Ferrier passed away on 23 November 2010....
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: Diabetes drug - Alzheimer's hope
A common diabetes drug could be redeveloped as a new treatment for Alzheimer's, research has suggested....
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: Thousands of older people "isolated"
Radio 4 Podcast on 10th November 2010...
View Full Story >>

---

CQC: Adult social care services have improved but the market must respond to meet future needs
Adult social care services have improved significantly since 2008 but further growth in the market is required to meet future needs, according to a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report......
View Full Story >>

---

BBC: Low life expectancy in North West
Blackpool and Manchester have the lowest life expectancy in England, according to BBC-commissioned research....
View Full Story >>

---

New powers for the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO)
The Health Act 2009 has amended the Local Government Act 1974 and created a new power which will allow the LGO to investigate complaints made by “self funders” about services that are registered under CQC’s essential standards....
View Full Story >>

---

Annual performance assessment
CQC response to minister's announcement...
View Full Story >>

---

Nostalgic toy story is child’s play
Residents of a Wrexham care home have been transported back in time to their childhoods thanks to the town’s museum....
View Full Story >>

---

Implementing the End of Life Care Strategy
Lessons for good practice looks at three Marie Curie Delivering Choice programmes, which work to identify the barriers to good care and highlights examples of good practice from across the country....
View Full Story >>

---

CQC SAYS IT WILL DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS
The Care Quality Commission has highlighted areas of poor practice in mental health services for patients who are subject to the Mental Health Act, and pledged to use its regulatory powers to lever improvement....
View Full Story >>

---

CQC: Adult social care and independent health care providers now registered
Over 10,200 providers are now registered with CQC who are working with a small number of providers who, for a variety of reasons, are either resubmitting their applications or we have not yet invited to apply....
View Full Story >>

---

Ensure your Care Home meets the new essential standards
From today, 1st October 2010 under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of adult social care that carry out regulated activities must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Providers are legally responsible for making sure they meet the new essential standards of quality and safety....
View Full Story >>

---