Community Care articles from August 2003

Community Care archives from August 2003

no way to fair fee deal.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... With delayed discharge fines only a few months away, there are worrying signs that the already difficult relationship between social services departments and private sector care homes could be about to take a turn for the worse. Private care...

MANAGEMENTALITY.
August 7, 2003... well appointed Dip into your recruitment and selection box and do you pull out a treat or something bitter? It's a tough job filling a job. Here, Des Kelly and John Burton help to sweeten the process "When I wasa abeing...

book reviews.(Restructuring the Welfare State: Political Institutions and Policy Change)(Book Review)
August 7, 2003... Restructuring the Welfare State: Political Institutions and Policy Change Edited by Bo Rothstein and Sven Steinmo, Palgrave ISBN 0312296282, [pounds sterling]14.99 The contributions in this volume reject the notion of...

disabilities; Boffins' brain wave on wheelchair use.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Disabled people could soon live more independent lives as scientists are creating a wheelchair that can be controlled by thoughts. Severely disabled or quadriplegic people, who would have difficulties using a motorised wheelchair, may...

research into practice.
August 7, 2003... Jane Reeves shares her research into young mothers in the care system and evaluates why some are so negative about their social workers There are increasing numbers of young mothers in care, many of whom require social work support that is...

teenage picks.
August 7, 2003... Service user inclusion and participation are worthy goals but putting them into practice needs careful thought, as was shown when young people took part in a recruitment and selection process in Torbay, writes Nigel Hinks A wide range of...

how do we do it better?
August 7, 2003... The "How do we do it?" conference enabled local authorities to discuss the implementation of government guidance on services for deafblind people. So how are they coping, asks campaigner Sue Brown council's response In April 2002...

If i am sent back i will be killed.
August 7, 2003... We all sat and watched the BBC asylum day programmes, and we were a bit shocked at the public reaction to people like us. It seemed however bad an experience the asylum seeker had lived through, the public here just don't want to help them. ...

Final frontier?
August 7, 2003... Bullying is the most common problem mentioned to staff on the ChildLine helpline. Yet schools, despite having policies in place, can be reluctant to challenge the specific issue of homophobic bullying. Natalie Valios reports bullying...

Councils' policies on rough sleepers spark outrage from support groups.
August 7, 2003... Homelessness organisations have been left "appalled" and "staggered" by the treatment two councils are giving to rough sleepers. Last week, Westminster Council announced what it called a "new and unique" approach to reduce the number of...

Child protection; 'Hodge must review court service board'.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... An influential board member of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has called on the children's minister to review the make-up of the board. Judy Weleminsky was responding to the damning report by the Department for...

housing; Benefit loss threat is 'discriminatory'.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... The Local Government Association has branded government plans to remove housing benefit from tenants acting antisocially as "discriminatory" and "the worst form of knee-jerk reaction". In response to the Department for Work and Pensions...

joint working; Minister encourages pooled information.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... The government has issued new advice on sharing information about children to encourage more staff from different agencies to pool their knowledge. Launching the guidance, children's minister Margaret Hodge said the aim was to dispel...

young offenders; Offender sues over solitary punishment.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... A young offender is suing for [pounds sterling]10,000 damages after he was placed in solitary confinement at Polmont Young Offenders Institution near Falkirk. Norman Carlton has applied for judicial review at the Court of Session over a...

children; Safe houses win support in battle to keep pace with child traffickers.
August 7, 2003... The UK is receiving more children who are sold into exploitation. Sally Gillen reports on what can be done when a lack of services and inadequate laws aid the traffickers Nearly two years after the torso of a Nigerian boy clothed only in a...

delayed discharge by derren hayes; Care home owners seek to raise fees using delayed discharge.
August 7, 2003... Fears are growing that care home providers will want a share of this year's [pounds sterling]50m delayed discharge grant before agreeing to take in new residents from councils. Peter Tempest, assistant director of adult services at Suffolk,...

charity; Suspended NSPCC chief reinstated.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... An NSPCC staff member who was suspended over his role as a character witness in the case of a man found innocent of sexually abusing children has been reinstated (news, page 7, 24 July). Gerry Tissier, the charity's head of media relations,...

workforce; Psychiatry bucks job vacancies trend.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... The number of job vacancies in community psychiatry has risen by 95 to 305, according to the latest NHS workforce vacancy survey. The rise, between September 2002 and March 2003, is despite a general reduction in the number of NHS job...

letters.(Letter to the Editor)
August 7, 2003... Privilege and power The comments of Louis Appleby and Sashi Sashidharan conveniently sidestep the real inequities in mental health care (news analysis, page 18, 17 July). I would humbly suggest that all service users would prefer home...

housing; Bid to lift profile of home loans scheme.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... The government has made another appeal for public sector workers to apply for loans from its starter home initiative. Deputy prime minister John Prescott announced a publicity campaign to attract more applicants before the scheme closes in...

asylum by clare jerrom; Refugee groups slam government's 'ever more punitive' stand on asylum.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... National charity Refugee Action has accused the government of introducing "ever more punitive measures" to deter asylum seekers from coming to the UK, after a series of developments. Despite the High Court ruling challenging the legality of...

readers' views; Majority back more pay for tough jobs.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Four out of five visitors to Community Care's website believe social workers who take on the toughest cases should be paid more. Health minister Stephen Ladyman raised the idea of incentives, which 79 per cent of visitors support. This...

Kurdish family loses battle to stay in UK.
August 7, 2003... A Kurdish mother and her four children were deported this week after 13 months in Dungavel Detention Centre in Scotland and a protracted fight to claim asylum. Yurdugal Ay and her children, Beriwan, 14, Newroz, 13, Medya, eight and their...

Call to limit access to health services.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Politicians have intensified the public debate over restricting asylum seekers' access to health services. Former transport secretary Stephen Byers told the Social Market Foundation that anyone requiring access to Britain's schools or...

care homes; Owners 'penalised for helping CRB'.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Care home owners who deferred applying for police checks for staff so that schools could take priority believe they have been penalised financially as a result. Criminal records checks for existing care home employees were originally...

charities; Diana fund gap filled in Wales.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Three charities threatened with closure following the freezing of payments from the Princess Diana fund have been given a lifeline by the Welsh assembly. The fund had been forced to halt payments to the charities following the decision by...

book reviews.(Book Review)
August 7, 2003... Young Men Surviving Child Sexual Abuse Andrew Durham, John Wiley and Sons ISBN 047084460, [pounds sterling]24.95 With this book, Durham has made an important contribution to the literature for professionals whose work may bring...

mental health; Care by Welsh trust under investigation.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Mental health services provided by a Welsh NHS trust are under investigation following concerns about the quality of care provided for service users. The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) said in a statement that several serious...

learning difficulty; Charities call for ringfenced funds.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... The Department of Health is being urged to ringfence funds of [pounds sterling]20m to develop learning difficulty services because the money is being spent elsewhere. DoH estimates reveal that only [pounds sterling]13m has been spent...

equality; Lambeth's alarm service was 'racist'.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Social services departments have been warned to learn from the inquiry into the management of Lambeth Council's former community alarm service, which was condemned as racist last week. David Hart, chairperson of the local strategic...

children; Councils failing on special education.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Some councils are failing to adequately serve looked-after children with special educational needs, a government report has shown. Achievement at Key Stage Four of Young People in Public Care highlights the gulf between looked-after...

mental health; Women prisoner worries highlighted.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... Mental health charity Maca has expressed "serious concerns" about rising levels of women prisoners suffering from mental disorders and record numbers committing suicide in jail. Last month's Prison Reform Trust report for 2002-3 revealed...

continuing care by derren hayes; Wrongful charging compensation may be double the fund allocated.
August 7, 2003... The bill for compensating people who have been wrongly charged for long-term care could be double the amount the government has allocated. Doubts have surfaced after an Oxfordshire-based legal firm revealed that the [pounds sterling]7.96m...

mental health katie leason; Bennett case typical of way NHStreats black people, inquiry told.
August 7, 2003... The treatment that David Bennett received from the NHS was typical of the poor care received by black people, the solicitor representing the Bennett family has told the independent inquiry into his care. In his closing remarks at the end of...

lock yourself away in prescott's new world.
August 7, 2003... Yvonne roberts Plans for 200,000 new homes are unlikely to herald an age of "living, breathing communities" A 40-mile concrete shore along the Thames in Kent and Essex will provide 200,000 new homes, including affordable accommodation...

abuse cycle is broken.
August 7, 2003... I am 31 and married. Two of my three gorgeous children live with me. I run a group for parents with learning difficulties with my local People First. I would never wish my childhood on anyone. I got a lot of abuse and no one listened to me. But...

Behind the headlines.
August 7, 2003... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news New health minister Stephen Ladyman has floated what may be the government's latest hope of a cure for the recruitment and retention crisis - better pay for social workers who do the...

alcohol misuse; Treatment denied to Irish national.(Brief Article)
August 7, 2003... An unnamed Irishman has been refused medical treatment for his alcohol dependency by Westminster social services. The man, an Irish national of no fixed abode, was referred to a crisis centre for alcohol detoxification but staff decided he...

double the trauma.
August 7, 2003... The Conservatives have called for people entering the UK to be tested for diseases such as HIV, an idea rejected by a recent parliamentary report. But what is life like for asylum seekers with HIV in Britain and what problems do they encounter?...

THE risk factor.
August 7, 2003... outreach in disguise The only way rural mental health worker Chris Coates (pictured left) could win the trust of a suicidal farmer was to visit him under somewhat false pretences. Graham Hopkins reports CASE notes ...

care chaos ahead.
August 7, 2003... Local authorities have spent the past two years coping with changes to charges for residential and home care services. "Preserved rights" for people in residential care have been abolished and the "residential allowance" is also being scrapped....

hard times for asylum.
August 7, 2003... The government's hardening attitude towards asylum seekers has been thrown into sharp focus over the past week. First, we had the unseemly spectacle of a former Labour minister delivering a speech some of which would not have been out of place...

diary.
August 7, 2003... This week's writer is a supervising social worker for an independent fostering agency Monday Arrive to find matters needing attention from duty incidents over the weekend. I finalise plans for a trip for carers and children and make sure...

faith restored in criminal justice?
August 21, 2003... viewpoint Plans to make restorative justice more central to sentencing need to be carefully thought out, argues Rob Allen When people are asked what values should drive sentencing, those that rank highly are apologising and paying back. Yet...

older and wiser.
August 21, 2003... letter from pennsylvania, usa Berks county has one of the biggest populations of older people in the US so it is vital to maintain high standards care and retain staff, says Janice Gasker. Which is where a mentoring programme comes in ...

rich person's game.
August 21, 2003... The National Lottery was never intended to be a resource for posh rowing clubs and art galleries. Bob Holman suggests a plan that would redirect more back to the people who fund it and need it most Reactions to the government's proposals...

diary.(social worker)
August 21, 2003... This week's writer is a primary care development worker and an approved social worker Monday I am the back-up ASW so I have to be available if there are lots of Mental Health Act assessments or if front-line staff need help. I have to put...

back on track.
August 21, 2003... A project in Oldham has formed a unique alliance with an aid charity in which restored ambulances and buses are delivered overseas. The initiative also bridged local community divisions, writes Graham Hopkins Mohammed Cameron "Kammy" Khan,...

life at the edge.(older homeless people)
August 21, 2003... Government attempts to tackle social exclusion seem to have bypassed older homeless people. Academics Hazel Morbey, Jenny Pannell and Robin Means discuss results of research into this group's needs and the difficulties in meeting them ...

winning proposals?
August 21, 2003... The way the National Lottery channels money to good causes is set to be transformed, sparking concern among charities and voluntary groups. We examine the impact of the proposals on funding in the social sphere, including the controversial plan...

consideration, respect, guidancea.
August 21, 2003... ais the Icelandic model for protecting children. And it is one that campaigners want adopted in England through the mooted children's commissioner. Ruth Winchester and Natalie Valios asked commissioners in Norway, Iceland and Lithuania what...

autism; Report points to lack of advocacy services.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... People with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are falling through the gaps between mental health and learning difficulty advocacy services. A new report from the National Autistic Society finds that two-thirds of advocacy organisations...

residential care; Liverpool loses case over care funding.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... The High Court has thrown out a complaint by Liverpool Council that the grant it received to pay for the care of independent care home residents formerly funded by central government was insufficient. The row follows the government's...

older people; Council fined after death in care home.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Cambridgeshire Council has been fined [pounds sterling]35,000 plus costs after a pensioner died when she fell from the window of one of its care homes. Social services admitted breaching health and safety rules before Peterborough Crown...

asylum seekers by clare jerrom; Housing policy needs to 'promote greater community cohesion'.
August 21, 2003... The Chartered Institute of Housing has called for a more constructive government policy towards asylum seekers and refugees, positive action to change their public image and the development of good practice by all housing agencies. In a...

regeneration; Learning providers to rethink courses.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Two-thirds of learning providers are considering changing their practice and range of courses because of the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, according to a report by the Learning and Skills Development Agency. The study finds...

disabilities; Access to Work 'still has long way to go'.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... The government's flagship Access to Work scheme is failing to properly meet the needs of disabled people, new research has revealed. The scheme, run by Jobcentre Plus on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, provides support for...

asylum seekers; GPs offering easier access to treatment.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... GPs in Southampton have drawn up an agreement to distribute asylum seekers across all the city's practices, improving their access to basic medical services. The system, which uses in-surgery and telephone translators, was set up because...

voluntary sector by sally gillen; Charities condemn failure to create skills development body for sector.
August 21, 2003... A leading voluntary umbrella body has attacked a decision not to create an organisation to develop the sector's skills. It warned the decision could "drive a stake through the heart of the government's plans to reform public services with...

child protection; Alarm sounded on child's right to sue.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Social services organisations have warned that allowing children to sue professionals who wrongly accuse their carers or parents of abuse could make social workers more cautious. The fears follow last week's High Court ruling by Master of...

mental health by katie leason; Services left to juggle resources as cuts to funds hinder improvements.
August 21, 2003... Mental health services are failing to deliver improvements for users as they struggle with financial pressures, despite the government making provision a top priority. The warning follows research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists...

children; Drive to put child protection online leads to array of emerging systems.
August 21, 2003... Confusion reigns as different agencies develop databases for vulnerable children. Mark Hunter reports on social services' fears of fragmentation and incompatibility One of the key proposals of Lord Laming's report into the death of...

local authorities; Council shakes up its complaints drill.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... A council has reviewed its complaints procedures after it was found to be slow to react to allegations that a woman with severe learning difficulties had been abused at two care homes. The local government ombudsman last week found Bromley...

funding by derren hayes; Bail-out of hospital trusts threatens primary care for vulnerable groups.
August 21, 2003... Access to medical and rehabilitation services for a range of disadvantaged groups could be affected by a funding shortage in primary care. Family doctors may refuse to provide specialist medical services for substance misusers, asylum...

children; Scotland loses one in five childminders.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... The number of registered childminders in Scotland has fallen by more than a fifth since 1998, new government figures reveal. The report, produced for the Scottish executive and covering almost 800 childminders, also finds that more than...

young people; Call for action to prevent alienation.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Too many disadvantaged young people are being held back by a lack of qualifications, substance abuse, bad behaviour or a criminal record, according to research published by the Prince's Trust. More than 600,000 16- to 24-year-olds are not...

care; 24-hour social care call centre goes live.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... The country's first 24-hour social care call centre for children has been launched on Merseyside. Liverpool Council has set up the [pounds sterling]1m centre, which will run alongside a computer system that allows all agencies to obtain...

disabled children; Most parents back information sharing.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Nine out of 10 parents of disabled children would not object to confidential information being shared between agencies if it improved services, according to new research for the National Service Framework for Children. The survey of nearly...

public order; Coalition demands benefits cut rethink.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... A coalition of 27 organisations is urging the government to scrap plans to cut housing benefit of people accused of antisocial behaviour, branding the measures "discriminatory, ineffective and ill-conceived". The Department for Work and...

standards; Ministers deny trying to interfere.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... The government has rejected claims that it interfered in the work of the Audit Commission over how "excellent councils" should be treated should their performance slip below the level required for the top Comprehensive Performance Assessment...

courts; Detective seeks witness protection.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... The detective who led the investigation into Damilola Taylor's death has called for vulnerable witnesses to be allowed special protection in court proceedings. Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Crofts believes there is an "underclass" of...

delayed discharges; Directors denounce cost of proposals.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Government proposals on implementing the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) 2003 are "impractical and could be astronomically costly", the Association of Directors of Social Services has warned. Guidance out for consultation would place a...

child support; 'Don't blame us' orders government.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... According to instructions issued by the government, staff at the Child Support Agency have been told not to blame ministers when they are unable to find parents' cases on their computers. The Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson...

training by katie leason; Chaos for students left in dark over which universities will offer degree.
August 21, 2003... Lack of information about which universities are offering the new social work degree course this autumn could leave potential students without a place. The General Social Care Council, which regulates social work training, says 63...

signs of new thinking.
August 21, 2003... Primary care trusts, the first of which began work two years ago and which now control 75 per cent of the NHS budget, are the government's designated method of transforming the way health and social care are delivered in our communities. ...

'get tough' with policy.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... When no less than 27 major organisations representing local authorities, tenants, the legal profession, housing groups and charities, all band together to say the government has got it wrong, then ministers need to sit up and take notice. ...

readers' views; Government 'too harsh' on refugees.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... More than half of the visitors to Community Care's website believe the government's attitude towards asylum seekers is too harsh. Fifty-seven per cent said the government should soften its approach. This week's question asks: If...

children; Services fall short in fifth of councils.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... One in five councils is providing inadequate children's services, the annual report of the chief inspector of social services has revealed. The 12th and final annual report before the Social Services Inspectorate is subsumed into the...

youth justice; Offender and victim need joint approach.(Brief Article)
August 21, 2003... Programmes to deter young offenders from crime and schemes supporting victims should be merged as the same people are being targeted by both, according to research sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council. Being a victim of...

carer can't cope anymore.
August 21, 2003... Our panel discusses the case of a man with dementia who goes into hospital after an accident. But his wife doesn't want him back home panel responses David Glover-Wright Alan has a label rather than a diagnosis, and this is likely...

fun with second family.
August 21, 2003... this life A family including children with learning difficulties can still be a very happy one, says Margaret Boutell My life is never dull. I've given up trying to explain to friends how it is that my family manages to have fun and enjoy...

research into practice.
August 21, 2003... People cope better helping a relative with care options if they build a good relationship with practitioners early on, finds Jill Manthorpe Recent studies about people who have decided to assist a family member's move into a care home...

Behind the headlines.
August 21, 2003... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news Even staff will be able to breathe more easily in the new atmosphere of openness and consultation within the NHS. At least, that is message from chief executive Nigel Crisp, who says that...

spare a thought for the parents.
August 21, 2003... Researcher Bridget Lindley looks at research into advice and advocacy for parents subject to child protection inquiries A key objective of the government's Quality Protects programme is to promote the participation of children and their...