Community Care articles from August 2004

Community Care archives from August 2004

Council pulls in employers to solve burgeoning skills crisis.(Learning and Skills Council and Business Links agencies)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Social care employers in Hertfordshire have been invited to join a group to address widespread skills gaps in the county, writes Roisin Woolnough. The county council's Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Business Links agencies are...

Training scheme inundated with hopefuls.(Oxfordshire Council)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Atrainee social worker scheme has been overwhelmed with applications just a few weeks after Oxfordshire Council launched it. The scheme offers four trainees a six-year programme of academic courses and on-the-job training in the council's...

youth justice; 'Keep mentally ill out of custody'.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... The father of a girl who committed suicide in New Hall prison last November has called for people with mental health problems not to be placed in prisons. Pledging his support for Community Care's "Back on Track" campaign to reduce the...

limited resources to snare abusers.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... The serious case review into the handling of the Ian Huntley investigation should have been titled Review of All Young Women Who Were Known or Alleged Victims of Sexual Abuse by Ian Huntley. Perhaps then there would have been more emphasis on...

funding; Council cites High Court order to Blair.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... West Sussex Council is still waiting for a response to concerns raised with the prime minister over the [pounds sterling]500,000 it was forced to spend to support a group of people from the remote island of Diego Garcia. The council took...

an eerie silence.
August 5, 2004... Bullied children in care do not talk about their torment. But they may respond in quiet but drastic ways. Which is why residential staff require a sound grasp of peer group dynamics, says Alison Taylor As a child, I was bullied for being...

the pain ; in spain.(domestic violence )
August 5, 2004... Spain's "worst shame" is being tackled by the new government as domestic violence moves to the top of the political agenda. Lee Clark looks at how attitudes towards this once taboo subject are changing lee clark is an experienced...

till death ; us do part.
August 5, 2004... When someone you care about dies, you feel distress and pain. But the experience can be much more complicated for someone with learning difficulties, who simply may not be able to grasp why they can no longer see their mother, for example. Many...

out of hours runs out of time.
August 5, 2004... Dr Finlay is dead, long live the emergency care practitioner. For the next time you call a doctor in the middle of the night, you will probably find things have changed. No more visits from a bleary-eyed GP who has already done a 16-hour day....

A little more knowledge.(through learning)
August 5, 2004... The shift to learning within organisations is a gift for staff who want to realise their potential, writes Martyn Sloman The job market has become more competitive over the years. There has been a huge rise in the number of people gaining...

child protection; Scottish care school under investigation.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... An independent care school in the west of Scotland is under investigation following allegations of abuse. Kibble school in Paisley provides residential and educational facilities for children with significant social and behavioural...

If I were.(opinion of antisocial behaviour co-ordinator Aaron Devereaux)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... ... Louise Casey Aaron Devereaux, antisocial behaviour co-ordinator, talks to David Craik The first thing I would do if I were head of the government's antisocial behaviour unit would be to magic up a truly joined-up approach between...

voluntary sector; NHS link-ups 'key to service delivery'.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Community care services can be improved if the Department of Health allows them to forge a strong partnership with the NHS, according to a government report. Over the past few years, the government has been trying to develop a strategic...

youth justice; Testing not enough without treatment.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Drug charities have warned that more investment is needed in drug prevention and treatment programmes if the Home Office plans to drug-test young people charged with certain crimes are to work. It emerged last week that, in 10 pilot areas,...

regeneration by derren hayes; Voluntary sector fears losing say on funding under new area agreements.
August 5, 2004... Fears have emerged that voluntary groups in deprived areas could be marginalised by the new local government funding arrangements announced last week. Regeneration umbrella body Urban Forum believes the voluntary and community sector (VCS)...

Drive towards conciliation leaves children at risk in divorce cases.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services)
August 5, 2004... Cafcass wants to shift its efforts towards parental mediation in marital breakdowns. Shirley Kumar reports on fears that doing so will silence the child's voice Adrive by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services...

Institute takes on hostile NHS reception for self-harmers.
August 5, 2004... New guidance seeks to replace the disapproval that all too often accompanies emergency admissions for self-harmers with effective treatment and care for a vulnerable group. Anabel Unity Sale reports There is an epidemic in our midst: every...

learning difficulties by clare jerrom; Carers 'misusing' money targeted at improving mobility of service users.
August 5, 2004... Benefits to improve care and mobility arrangements for people with learning difficulties are being routinely misused by carers, it is claimed. A front-line worker said she knew of people appointed to look after disability living allowance...

If you ask me...(interview with Adele Medhurst, learning disabled persons)(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 5, 2004... Adele Medhurst has learning difficulties and is a project worker for learning difficulties charity Voice UK Who has had the biggest influence on you? My mum. Which health or social care professional has been most use to you? ...

desperate remedy.(Alex Williams on his mental behavior)
August 5, 2004... Six weeks ago, I started deliberately cutting my veins so that I would bleed heavily. In the past I'd lost blood from wounding my arms and even needed multiple blood transfusions, but this was different. I had five transfusions - 26 pints...

criminal justice; Two more women die in custody.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Campaigners have called for urgent action after two young women died in custody last week. Marie Walsh, 29, was found dead in her cell at New Hall prison in West Yorkshire, the day after Rebecca Turner, 22, took her own life at Low Newton,...

training; Teaching methods not proven to work.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Methods used to teach social work students core skills are untested and might not be the most effective, new research by the Social Care Institute for Excellence suggests. A review of existing studies by Scie finds that much of the work on...

social justice; Labour accused of losing equality fight.(united kingdom. Commission for Social Justice)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... The Labour government has failed to make Britain a fair and just society, according to a report by think-tank the Institute of Public Policy Research. "Parental social class and ethnicity still heavily influence life-chances, whilst...

disabilities; Court backs right to medical treatment.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Patients' rights to life-prolonging treatment were boosted last week by a landmark High Court ruling. Leslie Burke, 44, who has a degenerative brain condition, sought clarification over when artificial nutrition and hydration can be...

standards; New proposals on inter-agency work.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Standards for inter-agency working have been drawn up after a recommendation by Lord Laming's inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. Laming's report, published in January 2002, highlighted poor working between different agencies that...

care homes; Government issues heatwave guidance.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... The government has issued advice to social workers, health professionals and care home staff on caring for patients during a heatwave. As the temperature in many parts of the UK hit 30 degrees last week, the guide was being distributed to...

children; Directors question the value of trusts.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... One third of directors and senior managers in social services and education think children's trusts will have no impact on children and young people who only receive universal services, according to research. One in 10 go further still and...

workforce by derren hayes; Seamless day and night service may signal end of emergency duty teams.
August 5, 2004... Emergency duty teams could soon be a thing of the past, with social services departments providing continuous cover throughout the day and night, senior managers believe. Liverpool social services is to follow Westminster Council's lead...

funding by derren hayes and lauren revans; Departments fear service cuts as chancellor's sums become clear.
August 5, 2004... Social services in England may have to turn to the NHS for extra resources or face service cuts, experts have warned. As part of last month's spending review, the chancellor announced that funding for social services for each of the next...

domestic violence by shirley Kumar; Health and probation staff require training to meet needs of victims.
August 5, 2004... Health and probation services are failing to meet the needs of domestic violence victims because of a lack of time and training, damning reports published this week have revealed. A report by the Inspectorate of Probation, based on visits...

readers' views; Providers' records, should be searched.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... More than 70 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website think electronic records held by child care service providers should be able to be searched for names of alleged offenders. This week's question asks: Did your social work...

homelessness; Essex denies failure to house teenagers.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... A council is fighting off claims at the High Court that it has flouted its statutory duty to house vulnerable teenagers. The Children's Legal Centre at the University of Essex has accused Essex Council of failing to provide suitable housing...

pendulum swings back.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Those lobbying for the "right to die" for people with serious medical conditions have been so successful in generating attention to their cause that the "right to live" argument rather fell by the wayside. So we welcome the judgement in...

diagnosis remains grim.(general practitioners now have more choice in providing their services)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... GPs are the cornerstone of primary health care, as well as the gateway to the rest of the tottering NHS edifice. So it should come as no surprise that tinkering with their contract is having some unexpected and not entirely welcome effects. ...

child protection; 'Give midwives and nurses greater say'.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Health visitors, nurses and midwives need to play a greater role in child protection, England's chief nursing officer has recommended. The review by Sarah Mullally identifies gaps in the way nursing, midwifery and health visiting services...

mental health; Derbyshire livid over its fallen star.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Two mental health trusts and six primary care trusts have complained about the star ratings they were recently awarded by the Healthcare Commission. They include Derbyshire Mental Health Trust, which is unhappy about its fall in the...

Panorama: Fighting for Care.
August 5, 2004... BBC 1, 18 July "Not ill enough," replied the NHS to Peter Bennett's application for NHS funding for the care of his wife Anne, in the last stages of Alzheimer's. Seeing them both, many viewers may have been baffled, but not those familiar...

voluntary sector; Lottery money must reach local groups.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... The UK's new lottery distributor, The Big Lottery Fund, must connect with the voluntary and community sector and ensure funds reach local organisations, the Urban Forum said this week. The umbrella body for community groups involved with...

health by derren hayes and haroon ashraf; Care trusts told to stop siphoning off money meant for hard-to-reach.
August 5, 2004... Primary care trusts are using funds set aside to develop care services for hard-to-reach groups to pay off NHS debts and boost other services, doctors' leaders claim. The British Medical Association has warned that PCTs that "rebadge"...

early warning.(Administration of juvenile justice)
August 5, 2004... Forensic scientist Sir Sydney Smith once remarked: "No child is born a criminal, no child is born an angel, he is just born." Shame, then, that the government seems determined to split children into two categories: the "yobbos" so loved by the...

nowhere to hide.
August 5, 2004... Intimidating and upsetting wherever it happens, child-on-child violence in a residential home brings the added trauma that the victim cannot escape the place where the attacks occur. David Berridge and colleagues explore violence in an...

TAKE one.(Robert Glover on his career as social worker)(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... Robert Glover Job title: Senior practitioner social worker Location/team: Looked-after children education service, Calderdale. Salary: About [pounds sterling]27,000 How long in the job: Nearly four years - the longest I've ever...

workplace; Race discrimination charge rejected.(Brief Article)
August 5, 2004... An employment tribunal has cleared Croydon social services director Hannah Miller of allegations of race discrimination. The case against Miller was brought by Gbolahan Awotungase after she publicly described him as "a hard taskmaster who...

a life of service.(Margaret Simey, biography)(Biography)
August 5, 2004... Terry Philpot reflects on the life of the great social reformer, writer and community worker Margaret Simey Margaret Simey, who has died aged 98, was someone who took Dylan Thomas at his word - she did not go gentle into the dark night but...

the missing links.
August 5, 2004... When Labour was voted into office in 1997, one of the first phrases it coined was "joined-up government" - the novel concept that government departments should talk to each other and co-ordinate their policies. So how is this deceptively simple...

network of care.(British Broadcasting Corp.'s Public service television programs)
August 5, 2004... A three-year campaign aimed at carers has left the BBC embedding the scheme's core values in how it treats its own staff. Graham Hopkins reports F inanced by a licence fee, the BBC does not need to pander to advertisers or produce a return...

cutting remarks are beyond belief.
August 5, 2004... Late July and August are slow months for the media. By which it means MPs go on holiday. The good news is that the gap in the news agenda that they leave can be filled to powerful effect by issues that are otherwise ignored. One day last...

depressed? join the queue, please.
August 12, 2004... viewpoint There's a simple, proven way to cut the long waiting lists for the NHS'smental health services, says Chris Thompson Despite the independent sector having the expertise and resources to help people with mental health problems, the...

University validation change rouses fears of bias to theory.
August 12, 2004... The decision to make universities the awarding bodies for post-qualifying social work training has dismayed some professional organisations, writes Roisin Woolnough. The General Social Care Council said the move, expected in 2006, had...

Disc lifts lid on department.(Southwark social services has created a CD to show prospective recruits what it is like to work there)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Southwark social services has created a CD to show prospective recruits what it is like to work there. The interactive CD contains interviews with staff - from front-line workers to directors - profiles, details of the area and the...

ring.(services of social care call centre)
August 12, 2004... for service A filter system in the shape of a call centre has been running in two social services departments to reduce the number of less serious or even irrelevant queries that staff have to deal with. Natalie Valios and Katie Leason...

They didn't buy.(social workers recruitment campaign surveys)
August 12, 2004... Clare Seymour's study of social work undergraduates suggests that awareness of the government's advertising campaign to recruit fresh talent into the profession might be low Until recently few attempts have been made to market social work...

readers' views; Split over training in communication.
August 12, 2004... Visitors to Community Care's website were evenly divided over whether their training had equipped them to communicate effectively with service users. This week's question asks: Is paying another authority to step in and manage services the...

PROFILE: terri dowty.(singer-turned-children's campaigner Terri Dowty tells how she became an activist)
August 12, 2004... Singer-turned-children's campaigner Terri Dowty tells Mark Hunter how she became an activist erri Dowty's address to this year's Community Care LIVE conference was typical of the style that has seen her emerge as one of the most prominent...

Stop before you drop.(influence of overwork )
August 12, 2004... Fed up with a workload that gets heavier however much you get through? Step back and think, advises Addie Stevenson Overwork is one of the main reasons why care professionals leave their jobs. Everyone knows what it feels like to have more...

housing by sally gillen and william little; Bill fails to protect vulnerable in flats and bedsits, ministers told.
August 12, 2004... Housing groups and charities are calling on the government to extend protection in the Housing Bill to vulnerable people living in flats and bedsits. National housing charity Shelter said the bill, currently at committee stage in the House...

more than misfortune.(prostitute's personal narrative)
August 12, 2004... this life Where prostitution is one of very few ways of earning money, the results can be catastrophic for families Iam a product of a single parent. My mother ran a "chicken parlour" near Obili, a town in Cameroon. She had my younger...

Survey finds NHS services keep users in the dark and without a proper say.
August 12, 2004... Large-scale user research shows the NHSis still far from providing good mental health care. Clare Jerrom reports Campaigners have called on the NHSto give mental health service users more information and a bigger say in care and treatment...

Exclusive by amy taylor; Dungavel children's welfare checks have yet to start - six months on.
August 12, 2004... No welfare assessments of children detained in an immigration removal centre have taken place - more than six months after the government announced the policy, Community Care has learned. Last December, then immigration minister Beverley...

New jobs designed to meet changing roles.(new jobs are constantly being designed or re-created within social care at the moment)
August 12, 2004... Vic Citarella, Topss England board member, tells Roisin Woolnough about keeping pace with social care needs New jobs are constantly being designed or re-created within social care at the moment. And there are many more to come, according to...

health; Mixed-sex wards to be shut in Scotland.(more than a dozen mixed-sex psychiatric wards )(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... More than a dozen mixed-sex psychiatric wards in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital are to be abolished by the end of the year, the Scottish executive has promised. Scottish health chiefs had pledged to get rid of the mixed-sex, open-plan wards...

asylum seekers; Move to prevent families splitting.(British Association of Social Workers may establish a service to prevent children being separated from their parents )(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... The British Association of Social Workers may set up a charity in partnership with other agencies to prevent failed asylum seekers' children being taken into care. Under the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004...

Faster out than in.(government's social work recruitment drive )
August 12, 2004... Despite the stream of recruits now flowing through social care's front door, the skills shortage will grow as long as our experienced professionals continue to stampede out the back, says Lisa Harker The government's social work...

asylum seekers; Dispersal link to HIV rate disputed.(Human Immunodeficiency Virus )(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... The government has challenged new research warning that the dispersal of asylum seekers could increase transmission of HIV. The study, reported in the British Medical Journal, is based on the responses of the lead doctors in 56 of the 75...

Youth justice; Scots chief inspector slams prison regime.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... The Scottish chief inspector of prisons has slammed conditions at Polmont Young Offender Institution in Falkirk. Andrew McLellan said young people held at Polmont's Argyll and Spey halls were still forced to slop out. The prisoners, many of...

community relations by sally gillen; Social services fail to make progress on improving cohesion, says report.
August 12, 2004... Social care and health services are lagging behind other sectors in addressing community cohesion, according to a study in the wake of disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham in 2001. In its final report, released last week, the...

child protection; Cozens rallies sector after Southall case.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Actions taken by a paediatrician that resulted in him being banned from child protection work for three years serve as a reminder of the importance of evidence-based practice, the president of the Association of Directors of Social Services has...

local authorities; Council still unclear on duty to islanders.(West Sussex)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... West Sussex Council is seeking further clarification from the government over the money it has spent supporting a group of people from the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. The council has already written several letters to government...

Spending review leaves social services counting up future cuts.
August 12, 2004... The Local Government Association believes the government's planned funding increases for social services for 2006-8 are not enough. But with council tax rises capped, can the NHS help out, asks Craig Kenny Social services departments in...

supporting people; Charities braced for worst after review.(charities are being left in financial uncertainty)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Fears are growing in the voluntary sector over the future of Supporting People services they are delivering due to continued doubts over the programme's funding. Some charities are being left in financial uncertainty after being told the...

young offenders; New rules will 'allow intimate searches'.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Children in prison could still be routinely strip-searched, have their genitals inspected and be left in cells for long periods under proposed new rules, the Howard League for Penal Reform has warned. The government was forced to re-write...

exclusive by lindsay clark and derren hayes; Professionals fear adult protection scheme will be dogged by loopholes.(Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme)
August 12, 2004... Social work professionals believe the Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme has been poorly publicised and could be undermined by loopholes in the system. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents to an exclusive Community Care survey said Pova...

criminal justice; Probation officer was gun-runner.(Mark Smith of Fulham social sercices has been jailed)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... A probation officer who used his job with young offenders as cover for a gun-running operation has been jailed for eight years. Mark Smith, from Hammersmith and Fulham social services, was in a car when he was stopped by police who found a...

workforce; Pace of registration for staff under fire.
August 12, 2004... Elder abuse campaigners and politicians have hit out at the General Social Care Council's recommendation not to fast-track domiciliary care workers on to the social care register. A consultation paper published this week by the GSCC...

adult services by clare jerrom; Government's future vision blurred by lack of service users' reflections.
August 12, 2004... The government has delayed a report into its future vision of adult social care, instead confirming for the first time it is to publish a green paper on the issue. Community care minister Stephen Ladyman said it was his initial intention...

victims of arrogance.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Since the Sir Roy Meadow controversy, the work of child protection professionals has been made more difficult than ever. One of the mothers at the centre of the Meadow affair was Sally Clark, cleared in January 2003 of killing two of her three...

beyond the manor.(care home management)
August 12, 2004... Denise Denis sees staff skills as the key resource for the care home sector and is working across East Anglia to spread the word among the region's homes. David Mortimer reports Most care home managers find the task of improving the quality...

my practice.(a mental health outreach team leader personal narrative)
August 12, 2004... A mental health outreach team serving a farming area is built on capability and value as much as qualifications, says Chris Coates Our team offers a mental health outreach service directly to the agricultural community of mid- and south...

mental health; Hackney 'forcing' older people out.(council is forcing to move aginst the wishes of older people with mental health problems)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... A group of older people with mental health problems have complained to the local government ombudsman that Hackney Council is forcing them to move against their wishes. John Wilder, director of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association,...

domestic violence; Women could face lighter jail terms.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Women who kill their partners after years of physical or emotional abuse could have their sentence reduced under new plans to overhaul the law on murder. The Law Commission proposes to reduce automatic murder sentences to manslaughter for...

But may lack GPs' back-up, say MPs.(General practitioners)(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Emergency duty teams needing GPs' help with clients could face problems if warnings from MPs this week become reality. By the end of this year most GPs will be able to opt out of providing out-of-hours care to their patients under a new...

workforce; Staff body says duty teams will survive.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... Claims that emergency duty teams are to disappear have been refuted by the Emergency Social Services Association. Steve Witheyman, chair of ESSA, said EDTs are not "dinosaurs that will die out, because they can adapt". Last week, some...

book reviews.(Community Care and the Law)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 12, 2004... COMMUNITY CARE AND THE LAW Luke Clements, Legal Action Group ISBN 1903307198, [pounds sterling]37 This essential guide for anyone working in community care provides an informative view for students through to experienced...

Rough sleepers; Accession nationals forced onto streets.(Brief Article)
August 12, 2004... A significant number of nationals from countries that recently joined the European Union are sleeping rough in central London, it was revealed last week. Thames Reach Bondway, a charity that works with homeless people in the capital,...