Community Care articles from August 2002

Community Care archives from August 2002

have faith in care homes.(quality of care provided within Jewish voluntary sector nursing homes reflects tradition and moral commitment by local Jewish communities to care for their older members)(care provided within Jewish voluntary sector homes reflects a long-established tradition and moral commitment by local Jewish communities to care for their older members)
August 1, 2002... We live in grey times. In Britain, 200 years ago women on average could expect to live to 50, and men to 48. Today, the average life expectancy for women is almost 80 and around 75 years for men. By 2025 there will be five times as many...

future assets.(children leaving child care services should be provided with an independence trust fund)(Column)
August 1, 2002... Care leavers should be provided with an independence trust fund, argues Will Paxton from the Institute for Public Policy Research Children leaving care should be given access to a targeted independence trust fund. This would provide them...

Services need to work with families.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The white paper Valuing People recognised the needs and rights of people with learning difficulties, but there is still great room for improvement when it comes to recognising the needs, rights and contributions of families. In the UK, the...

research into practice.(abuse of vulnerable adults)
August 1, 2002... As a social issue, the wider recognition of abuse of vulnerable adults is new in the UK. The need to address it in a coherent manner led to the development of No Secrets.1 In a recent article,2 Dinah Mathew and colleagues reported on the...

drug misuse; Agency remit may include alcohol.(National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse may need to reallocate resources towards alcohol issues )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse may need to reallocate resources towards alcohol issues if its remit is expanded following a government review into binge drinking. A study into creating a national strategy for tackling...

Adoption; Catholic Church against amendment.(Catholic Church planning advertising campaign opposing UK government's plans to liberalize adoption laws to allow unmarried and lesbian and gay couples to adopt)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Catholic Church is planning an advertising campaign on the importance of marriage that could undermine government plans to liberalise adoption laws. The church is concerned with an amendment to the Adoption and Children Bill that would...

workforce; Delay in check leads to claim for [pounds sterling]2,000.(Coventry social worker seeks compensation from the Criminal Records Bureau for loss of earnings)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... A Coventry social worker is seeking nearly [pound]2,000 compensation from the Criminal Records Bureau for loss of earnings after she was forced to wait 14 weeks for her enhanced disclosure to be processed. Philomena Brown is unable to...

asylum seekers; Social networks key to refugees' choices.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Asylum seekers coming to the UK do not know much about our immigration and asylum procedures, according to a report by the University of Wales's migration unit for the Home Office. The report, one of three commissioned by the Home Office to...

mental health by david brown; Charities claim mental health trusts' star ratings mask the true picture.(mental health charities criticize star ratings for mental heath services)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Leading mental health charities have criticised the star ratings for mental heath services as painting "too positive" a picture. Ratings of two or three stars, the top two grades, were awarded to 71 of the 86 mental health trusts (see...

Learning difficulties; Guidelines to help autistic pupils.(Autism Working Group publishes new guidelines to help education and health professionals identify children with autism)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... New guidelines to help education and health professionals identify children with autism and provide them with high quality support in schools were published this week by the Autism Working Group. Schools minister Catherine Ashton said:...

voluntary sector; Treasury identifies spending priorities.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The government wants the [pound]125m allocated to the voluntary sector in chancellor Gordon Brown's spending review to be spent on front-line service delivery and modernisation. Treasury chief secretary Paul Boateng outlined what the...

asylum seekers; Minister defends detention centres.(Home Office defends UK government's plans for asylum seeker accommodation centres)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Home Office has defended the government's plans for asylum seeker accommodation centres in a letter to the parliamentary joint committee on human rights. Home Office minister Lord Filkin wrote to the joint committee to reassure it that...

youth justice; Reading's prisoners need more purpose.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Most prisoners at the young offenders institution and remand centre in Reading have too little meaningful work, according to Anne Owers, chief inspector of prisons. "There is a need at Reading to build resettlement, purposeful activity and...

Children's trusts welcomed as step towards multi-agency approach.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Department of Health has distanced itself from reports that private sector agencies will be responsible for the children's trusts announced in last month's spending review. The spending review white paper Opportunity and Security for...

mental health; Lords rule councils must pay for care.(House of Lords rules local authorities must pay for aftercare of psychiatric patients)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Local authorities must pay for the aftercare of psychiatric patients following their discharge from compulsory detention in hospital, the House of Lords ruled last week. Five law lords unanimously dismissed an appeal against an Appeal...

Youth justice; Case postponed to solicit more views.(protection for children in prison)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... AHigh Court case to secure more protection for children in prison was delayed this week to allow social services authorities the chance to make submissions. The Howard League for Penal Reform hoped to begin the case yesterday to challenge...

legal; Nursery workers win libel case.(former nursery nurses Christopher Lillie and Dawn Reed found innocent of allegations of sexual abuse made against them by by Newcastle Council)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... A High Court ruling in a libel case this week could have far-reaching implications for the way local authorities respond to allegations about employees. Mr Justice Eady ruled that former nursery nurses Christopher Lillie and Dawn Reed were...

readers' views; Cast your vote on campaign aims.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... One of the aims of Community Care's Changing Minds campaign is that a task force should be created to draw up a national strategy for child and adolescent mental health services. Do you agree? (see News, page 6). To vote go to...

time to change minds. [child mental health services].(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Today sees the launch of Changing Minds, Community Care's major campaign to improve mental health services for children and young people. These vulnerable young people have been neglected for too long. Because of the shortage of services,...

care homes; Registration deadline scrapped.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... This week's deadline for registering managers and providers of children's and older people's homes with the National Care Standards Commission has been scrapped by the Department of Health. The decision is a knock-on effect of the Criminal...

older people ; Delays to standards increase abuse risk.(Department of Health criticized for postponing publication of national minimum standards for regulation of domiciliary care agencies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Older people's charity Action on Elder Abuse has criticised the Department of Health for postponing for a second time the publication of the national minimum standards for the regulation of domiciliary care agencies. The charity's chief...

bed blocking; Rules will cover mental health.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Mental health patients will come under the rules requiring social care services to reimburse hospitals for the costs of delayed discharges of older people. The rules will initially only cover patients in acute and general geriatric...

Commission chief criticises health secretary's care standards u-turn.(environmental standards for nursing homes)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... National Care Standards Commission chairperson Anne Parker believes that the government's decision to consult on environmental standards for care homes is premature. Health secretary Alan Milburn announced last week that an amended set of...

child protection by Paul Donovan; Shared premises endanger children.(The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has admitted that more than a quarter of its premises are shared with the probation service)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has admitted that more than a quarter of its premises are shared with the probation service. The revelation follows the discovery last month that some young people who have been...

a break free of caring?
August 1, 2002... Our multi-disciplinary panel looks at the case of a disabled man whose mother needs respite - but can't get it panel responses James Lampert This scenario throws up some interesting dilemmas for all involved with this case. It is...

mental health by Rachel Downey; Community Care campaigns for better services for young people.(government to convene task force on child and adolescent mental health services to draw up a national strategy for England.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CAMPAIGN AIMS The government to convene a task force on child and adolescent mental health services to draw up a national strategy for England. The government to ensure ring-fenced resources for CAMHS. All preventive and social...

at the crux of a crisis.(poor pay and training for caregivers is criticized)(Column)
August 1, 2002... The contribution of so-called "informal" carers is now estimated to be worth hundreds of millions, if not billions of pounds. But what about the multitude of paid carers? What about "caring" as a profession? In some areas of the country...

Return to the past?(Norsk forbund for utviklingshemmede treats people with learning disabilities in Norway)
August 1, 2002... Norsk forbund for utviklingshemmede (NFU) is an organisation for people with learning difficulties and their families. Established in 1967, it has around 7,300 members, including 2,000 officers, in 19 counties and 240 local organisations. In...

finance; Hull social services budgets slashed.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Social services budgets at Hull Council will be cut by 10 per cent over the next two years under plans to rescue the council from its financial crisis. The Audit Commission asked the government this week to take over the running of the...

Patchwork won't do.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The rise in mental illness among children and young people has exposed the government's preference for short-term fixes when what is required is more commitment to core services, writes Melissa Benn

mental health; Survey highlights crisis in services for children and young people.(mental health treatment)
August 1, 2002... To launch Community Care's Changing Minds campaign, Rachel Downey outlines the steps professionals believe need to be taken to improve mental health treatment spent more than 20 per cent of their time dealing with the mental health needs...

mental health; Survey highlights crisis in services for children and young people.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... To launch Community Care's Changing Minds campaign, Rachel Downey outlines the steps professionals believe need to be taken to improve mental health treatment What you can do 1 Sign up to Community Care's Changing Minds campaign...

Youth Justice; Probation officers' funds cut in London.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... The effectiveness of youth offending teams in 11 London boroughs has been threatened by the withdrawal of funding for their agency probation officers. The London Probation Area (LPA) has taken the decision to scrap the [pound]40,000 annual...

older people; Payments need to be streamlined.(nursing care in care homes)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Councils and primary care trusts have been told to create streamlined payment systems when the NHS becomes responsible for funding nursing care in care homes. Payments should come from a single source to minimise the administrative burden...

sexual expression masks grim reality.(sexual abuse of young people in government care)(Brief Article)(Column)
August 1, 2002... Sex, sun and sangria. It's holiday time. That means acres more nipples, naked flesh and shaved pubic areas - in the UK press at least. I have a problem with sex, or at least its public presentation. Take some recent headlines: "Sex scandal at...

no one to turn to.(Community Care's Changing Minds campaign highlights need to improve services for children and young people with mental health problems)
August 1, 2002... Community Care's Changing Minds campaign will highlight the need to improve services for children and young people with mental health problems. It kicks off here with a stark analysis of the resource vacuum currently experienced by young people...

equipment; failure.(UK health minister Alan Milburn plans to increase spending on older people's services by [pound]1billion per year)
August 1, 2002... Two years ago the Audit Commission criticised theorganisation of equipment services. Now it has published anotherreport which concludes that, despite more money andguidance being made available, matters have barely improved.Natalie Valios...

appeal for speed.(welfare rights )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... As we move to benefits being delivered by the Pensions Service and Job Centre Plus, some things don't seem to change. The quality of decision-making may eventually improve when social security staff become familiar with the new methods of...

asylum seekers by anabel unity sale; Refugee groups round on changes to asylum seekers' right to work.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Refugee and asylum seeker campaigners have attacked the government's decision to remove the right to work from asylum seekers who have not had decisions on their claims after six months. Home Office minister Beverley Hughes announced the...

joint review; Conwy warned of uncertain prospects.(Conwy Council in north Wales)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Weak management of cases and lack of stated standards have been blamed for a variable quality of social services at Conwy Council in north Wales. Some people are served well but the prospects for improvement are uncertain, said the joint...

local government; Ministers 'terrified' of losing power.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... MPs have accused ministers of being too "terrified" to allow local authorities more independence. The Labour-dominated House of Commons committee on transport, local government and the regions said a revised version of the draft Local...

clerical ; guidance.(program assists clergy in understanding and supporting people with mental health problems)
August 1, 2002... Lecturer and practitioner Alan Pringle and his colleagues highlight how a tailored programme can assist clergy in understanding and supporting people with mental health problems The Department of Health's guide to mental health...

No safe haven for children in bill.(Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill will be the fourth piece of primary legislation on the subject of immigration in the past 10 years. Each was heralded amid promises to reform the system once and for all, take firm action against...

Mental health organisations back campaign to improve services.
August 8, 2002... Mental health organisations last week demonstrated their support for Community Care's campaign for better mental health services for children and young people. Ruth Lesirge, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, told the launch...

Prevention Not Detention.
August 8, 2002... Overwhelming numbers of young offenders show symptoms of having mentalillness. So why do we lock them up in prisons instead of treating theirillnesses, asks Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust "Well I can understand people...

catch them Young.(mental health problems of young people within the UK criminal justice system)
August 8, 2002... Although young offenders are assessed to find out the reasons for their behaviour, there is currently no routine screening for mental health problems. Natalie Valios reports Young people within the criminal justice system are estimated to...

Readers' views; Support for mental health task force.(Community Care's website)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Ninety-four per cent of visitors to Community Care's website support the creation of a task force to draw up a national strategy for child and adolescent mental health services, which is one of the six aims of Community Care's new campaign. ...

risky business.(risk assessments of mental health service users)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Mental health workers Lance Carver and Mike Lehane surveyed mental health teams about risk assessments and argue that more standardisation is needed Providing up to date risk assessments of mental health service users is second nature...

Child protection; Vale of Glamorgan Services 'improving'.(Child protection services in Vale of Glamorgan Council)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Child protection services in Vale of Glamorgan Council are not serving children well, according to an inspection by the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales. The inspectors found that services were improving, but considerable progress...

Social services; Scots staff help deal with flood problems.
August 8, 2002... Glasgow social workers sprung into action this week when the city experienced its worst flash floods in 50 years. Staff opened area offices to offer advice and consultation to residents, many of whom had been evacuated from their homes. ...

child protection; Fallout from libel case prompts calls for overhaul of review procedures.
August 8, 2002... A judge's attack on Newcastle Council's inquiry into abuse claims at a nursery has sparked fears that councils will be deterred from probing allegations, writes Derren Hayes The libel case of two Newcastle nursery workers accused in a...

Residential care by sally gillen; Insurance broker agrees to provide cover for children's homes sector.
August 8, 2002... A deal between an insurance broker and the National Association of Independent Resources for Children could save hundreds of children's homes from closure. Macclesfield-based Bollington Group has agreed to take business from Nairc, which...

Child protection by David Brown and Derren Hayes; Delay in criminal checks for school staff leads to fears over safety.
August 8, 2002... The Criminal Records Bureau has come under fire from teaching unions amid fears that nurseries and schools could be forced to compromise their standards and put children at risk by employing staff who have not been properly checked. At...

Report urges youth justice to develop mental health services.
August 8, 2002... All youth offending teams should have a specialist mental health worker, according to research published by the Mental Health Foundation this week. The report says young offenders are at least three times more likely to have mental health...

Older people; Landmark ruling on assets creates stir.(House of Lords judgement)
August 8, 2002... Alandmark legal ruling by law lords on the issue of older people's assets could have major implications for social services in Scotland, as well as some fallout for English authorities. The House of Lords judgement ruled that Fife Council...

drugs misuse; Agencies combine to tackle crack dealers.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Social workers in Cambridge have improved information-sharing with the police in response to an increase in the use of crack-cocaine and the related rise in demand for social services. Last September, dealers began to offer free rocks of...

Disability; Discrimination pay out for deaf man.(potential employers would not make adjustments to allow him to avoid telephone work)
August 8, 2002... A deaf man who was refused a job because his potential employers would not make adjustments to allow him to avoid telephone work has won [pound]7,436 damages in a landmark employment tribunal case. Mark Keane, whose case was fought by the...

Disabilities; Commissions greet draft equality bill.(Disability Rights Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality welcome Single Equality Bill)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... The Disability Rights Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality have welcomed the Single Equality Bill, launched for consultation this week. But both organisations continue to have concerns about the creation of a single equality...

Child protection; Dumfries admits child murder errors.(Keith Makin, director of social work for Dumfries and Galloway Council)
August 8, 2002... A social work director has admitted that mistakes were made in the case of a father who was found guilty of killing two of his young children. Keith Makin, director of social work for Dumfries and Galloway Council and chairperson of the...

Asylum seekers; Dispute envelops plan to build centres.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... The Home Office contested two councils' objections this week to its plans to build accommodation centres for asylum seekers on land in their areas. Last month, Cherwell and Rushcliffe Councils refused to support the Home Office's planning...

Youth justice; Prisons fall short on performance targets.(Prison Reform Trust report)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... The Prison Service has failed to meet six of its 15 key performance indicators, according to a Prison Reform Trust report. Assault rates were well above the 9 per cent target rate, with the highest rates recorded in male juvenile...

Legal; Competition Act to apply to councils.
August 8, 2002... Local authorities and other public sector bodies must act more carefully when they outsource services, following a judgement by the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal last week. The Competition Act 1998 prevents businesses from entering...

homelessness; More money for council schemes.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... English local authorities have been allocated [pound]3.3m by the government to help them develop strategies to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness. The announcement was made last week as the Homelessness Act 2002 came into effect....

standards by Sally Gillen; Zero star ratings for social services lead to directors' departures.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Four of the 10 directors of the social services departments that received a zero-star rating in May have left their councils, and a fifth is on stress-related sick leave. Last week, Coventry Council's director of social services Jonathan...

race ahead. [Leicester Council promotes race equality].(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... In a Working Progress special, Graham Hopkins visits Leicester Council to see why it has been awarded beacon status for its work on promoting race equality Following the race riots in 2001, a government task force was set up to suggest...

workforce; Compensation claim for stress dismissed.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... A social worker who claimed her 100-hour a week workload led to a stress-related breakdown had her compensation bid dismissed at the High Court last week. Maureen Pratley, who worked as a care manager for older people in the Leatherhead...

child protection; Care worker to take claim to Europe.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... A former Newcastle care worker who was falsely accused of making obscene comments to a girl in foster care is taking the government to the European Court of Human Rights for more compensation (News, page 16, 13 June). Paul Gillon, from...

workforce by janet snell; Strikes averted after breakthrough in local government pay talks.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Local government unions have called off a national strike planned for 14 August after a breakthrough in pay talks. But employers are warning that the package on offer could mean job cuts, a reduction in services and higher council tax...

broaching the issue. [employees with disabilities].(Column)
August 8, 2002... Many of you may have read my article (This Life, 4 July) about my struggle to find employment as someone with a speech impairment and the discrimination I faced within the disability field. My perseverance has paid off and I have been...

strikers' own goal.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Government should do something to improve the pay, conditions and standing of social work, but professionals should be wary of strike action - which may be self-defeating, writes Alison Taylor In my current novel, one of the characters is...

policy; Extent of bed-blocking fines system surprises health and care sectors.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... The government's proposals on reimbursing hospitals for the cost of bed-blocking go further than local authorities initially expected. David Brown reports You could almost hear the jaws dropping at the Local Government Association last...

care homes; Discussions over Lancashire closures.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Lancashire Council has announced proposals to close 32 residential care homes on a phased basis. Further discussions are to take place, however, to see if half of them can be used to provide non-residential services for older people. In...

local authorities; Liverpool to launch 'action team' firm.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... A company to be set up by Liverpool Council could rival the private sector performance action teams being used to turn around social services departments. The company, NewCo, will help run services for other councils. These will range from...

wrong kind of care.(Caroline Ensor cares for Carole Browne)
August 8, 2002... Soon after an older woman's daughter moved back home to care for her, care workersreported that the daughter's treatment of her mother was far from ideal. Graham Hopkinstalks to Joanne Welch (pictured left) and John Hannaway (right) ...

war and welfare are inextricably linked.(Brief Article)(Column)
August 8, 2002... As we retreat to safe TV, home and garden, war provides the news backdrop to our lives. There hasn't been a period of peace in the world since nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now there are fears (and, in some quarters,...

funding; Rural areas fear [pounds sterling]800m loss to cities.(County Councils Network report)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... County councils could lose up to [pound]800m a year under proposed changes to the formulae for calculating the standard spending assessment, which is out for consultation until the end of next month. Tim Richens, a member of the finance...

workforce by community care reporters; Brighton sacks social workers after inquiry into four-year-old's death.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Two Brighton social workers have been sacked over the death of a four-year-old boy. Case worker David Pamely and adoption worker John Barrow were dismissed last week after a disciplinary hearing into mistakes made in the care and...

children; Society agrees on leaving present.(Children's Society)
August 8, 2002... The Children's Society has saved a number of projects which had been put in jeopardy after the charity's shock announcement last year that it was to leave Wales. Under a new agreement, it will give the diocese of St David in south west...

disabilities; Hotels receive new sensory ratings.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Anew ratings system for hotels will provide information for guests with physical disabilities, including visual and hearing impairments. Hotels, guest houses and self-catering accommodation will be assessed against four levels for mobility...

workforce; Ex-care home boss accused of stealing.(James Swaby)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... The former manager of a care home for people with learning difficulties appeared in court last week accused of stealing [pound]118,000 from Hampshire social services. James Swaby, who was the unit manager of Upton Grey Close, Winchester,...

research into practice.(Skill's Enhanding Quality of Life project)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2002... Liz Maudslay looks at how a project involving Cambridge University and Skill confronted the needs of people with severe learning difficulties The Enhancing Quality of Life project, initiated jointly by Skill: National Bureau for Students...

Break offenders' link with alcohol.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
August 15, 2002... viewpoint The prison system's policies on offenders' drug misuse need to be matched by a focus on alcohol, says John Henty One of the major concerns in the field of homelessness is the number of people who are alcohol dependent or problem...

voluntary sector; Charities fear euro will reduce revenue.(Brief Article)
August 15, 2002... Voluntary organisations could see a fall in revenue if the euro is introduced in the UK, the Wales Council for Voluntary Action has warned. UK charities would be affected because the value of the euro coin (about 62p) would be less than the...

legal; Baaf in constructive dismissal case.(Baaf Adoption and Fostering)(Brief Article)
August 15, 2002... An employment tribunal has heard how a former employee of Baaf Adoption and Fostering described the organisation as "Kafka-esque", with a management culture of bullying and secrecy. Sylvia Barker, a Baaf employee of 15 years, quit her job...