Community Care articles from August 2005

Community Care archives from August 2005

ONE STOP MENTAL HEALTH.
August 4, 2005... Could walk-in centres help address the poor quality of life for people with mental health problems? Jennifer Rankin argues that they could Mental health has been in an ambiguous position in recent years. On the one hand, since Labour came...

It's not rocket science.(adult care green paper)(social care services)
August 4, 2005... In the last of a series of three Knowledge Zone articles on public sector reform Natalie Tarry explains why proposals in adult social care will have an overwhelmingly positive effect on services The adult care green paper has boosted the...

workforce by mithran samuel; Stronger incentives needed to coax staff on to register, says council head.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Social care workers must be given an incentive to join the workforce register, the chief executive of the General Social Care Council has said. Lynne Berry said front-line social workers had only joined the register in numbers when the threat...

mental health; Nurses to have new therapeutic role.
August 4, 2005... A fundamental change in the role of mental health nurses, from symptom control to social inclusion and recovery, has been outlined by the government. The move away from a "narrow focus" on psychiatric symptoms to a more holistic approach to...

Prison numbers impede aim of 'seamless' offender supervision.(National Offender Management System)
August 4, 2005... The National Offender Management System was set up last year to cut re-offending rates by restructuring the prison and probation services. Is it on course to succeed, asks Maria Ahmed The reforms to prison and probation services that are...

policy by Mithran Samuel; Training chief blasts lack of social care expertise in health department.
August 4, 2005... The "decimation" of the Department of Health's social care knowledge base has left it reliant on the sector's national bodies for policy assistance, Skills for Care's chief executive has claimed. Andrea Rowe said her organisation, the...

joint working; Boundary revamp to aid joint-working.(social care and health)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... A massive shake-up of the NHS will ensure most primary care trusts and councils share the same boundaries, to promote joint working between social care and health. The proposal, announced last week, follows the government's decision to have a...

workforce; Joint Welsh effort to recruit staff.
August 4, 2005... A report into the social services workforce in Wales is expected to call for greater collaboration between local authorities on tackling the shortage of social workers. The report, written by Tony Garthwaite, chair of the Association of...

children; Rights still a priority despite loss of post.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... The rights of children in Oxfordshire will continue to be a priority for authorities despite the end of England's first local children's commissioner post, the county council has insisted. The posts of Oxfordshire's commissioner, Ianthe...

young offenders; Hughes urged to act on councils' failings.(Children's minister Beverley Hughes)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Children's minister Beverley Hughes must take action to ensure that councils provide better support for young offenders leaving prison, a leading campaigner said this week. Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, wants to...

asylum seekers; Ugandan women hunger strike claim.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Ugandan women at three immigration centres have started hunger strikes in protest at the prospect of being returned to the war-torn country, a charity has claimed. Legal Action for Women said at least nine women had begun a hunger strike at...

family courts; Social workers can reveal case details.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Social workers who are party to family court proceedings will no longer be banned from revealing case details to MPs. The government moved to relax family court rules after it was revealed that MPs had been unwittingly breaking the law by...

supporting people; Associations unite to fend off cuts.(Supported housing associations)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Supported housing associations in London have formed a group to promote their interests in the face of potential cuts to the Supporting People programme. The support and care group, part of the G15 coalition of 15 London housing associations,...

children; Care home staff are ; priority for reforms.(Children's Workforce Development Council)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Residential social care should be made an additional priority in developing the children's workforce, according to the body in charge of driving the reforms. The Children's Workforce Development Council said children's residential care was...

communities ; No respect between rival ministries.(office of deputy prime minister John Prescott)(Home Office minister Hazel Blears )(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... The office of deputy prime minister John Prescott refused a Home Office request to hand over [pounds sterling]50m to fund antisocial behaviour work led by controversial "Respect" tsar Louise Casey, according to a memo leaked this week. In the...

Disability; 'Catch 22' hospital case to go to Lords.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Adisabled patient who lost his battle with doctors over withdrawing treatment, plans to take his case to the House of Lords. Leslie Burke, 45, who suffers from a degenerative brain condition, won a ruling last year supporting his right to...

give supervision.(social workers supervision)
August 4, 2005... The importance of quality supervision for social workers is vital for good practice, writes Nathalie Towner. A supervision is an opportunity to discuss workload but also an essential part of developing a social worker's career. Who is...

If you ask me...(Claudine Fricker views)(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 4, 2005... Claudine Fricker is a resident at Arthur House run by Craegmoor Healthcare. She has Parkinson's disease Who has had the biggest influence on you? My mother and my late husband. Which health or social care professionals have been most...

New legal duty may open doors for disabled workforce.(Disability Discrimination Act 2005)(disabled persons recruitment)
August 4, 2005... Improved rights for disabled people could create thousands of job opportunities at local authorities, including social services departments. From December 2006, government departments, councils and some private and voluntary sector service...

ON ; THE ; MOVE.(Archie Stoddart appointed for Shelter Scotland)(Cumbria Council appointed Moira Swann)(North Tyneside council appointed Andrew Kerr)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... ARCHIE STODDART is joining Shelter Scotland as director. He currently works for the Scottish executive's private sector and affordable housing policy division. Stoddart replaces Liz Nicholson, who is retiring. Cumbria Council has...

no words for her trauma.(a teenager who was abused physically and mentally)
August 4, 2005... A teenage girl's behaviour points to abuse from a very young age. No wonder she needs support trying to express her feelings panel responses steve oliver The social worker should have explored the whereabouts of Shona's father - absent...

shrinking violence.(Cheshire Domestic Abuse Partnership)(to prevent domestic violence)
August 4, 2005... An innovative partnership with education in Cheshire aims to help children deal with domestic abuse. Graham Hopkins reports Every year in the UK, three million children and young people witness domestic violence. It is believed that 90 per...

Social work left trailing in dream jobs survey.
August 4, 2005... A career in the public sector is still sought after - as long as it isn't in social work, a survey has found. Popular childhood dream jobs - doctor, nurse and teacher - are three of the top four most desired occupations but social work fails...

listen and learn?(National Action Plan to remove poverty)
August 4, 2005... welfare rights People on low incomes are about to be consulted about government policies, writes Gary Vaux So we all wore our white wristbands and nodded along to Pink Floyd - or nodded off. The irony of listening to multi-millionaire rock...

adult services; Directors demand a duty to co-operate.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Public bodies and care providers must be placed under a duty to co-operate in adult services partnerships if the green paper's vision is to succeed, say council leaders. The Association of Directors of Social Services and the Local Government...

asylum seekers; Man on hunger strike handcuffed.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... AZimbabwean asylum seeker who could not stand unaided was handcuffed on a journey from an immigration detention centre to hospital against the advice of his doctor, it is claimed. Dr Frank Arnold, who visited the man after being requested to...

career clinic.(workplace environment)(employee harrasment)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... A male colleague occasionally makes inappropriate remarks about another colleague's sexuality. They aren't blatant enough to be really offensive but make me feel uncomfortable. The colleague who is the target of the jokes is openly gay and...

children; Expert's warning on assessment system.(children evaluation process)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Scotland's new children's integrated assessment system will need significant resources and robust IT to work effectively, a senior social work expert has warned. It is claimed that the integrated assessment planning and recording framework...

children by Gordon Carson; Protection register to be scrapped; as electronic records come on stream.(National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)
August 4, 2005... The government has been urged not to rush through proposals to scrap the child protection register. The NSPCC said "wide-reaching consultation and research" should take place on the effects of scrapping the register before a decision was made....

domestic violence; Pre-school children badly traumatised.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Half of all pre-school children who are exposed to domestic violence suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, research has found. The first UK study into the effect of domestic violence on under-fives uncovers significant risk of several trauma...

job file: project co-ordinator, welcome to your library.(Helen Carpenter of London Libraries Development Agency)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Who's doing it? Helen Carpenter. Where? London Libraries Development Agency. Job description: To expand nationally an initiative to help public libraries develop and improve services for refugees and asylum seekers. Skills/qualifications...

learning difficulties; Young people stall at transition stage.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Many young people with special educational needs are making little or no progress in the transition to early adulthood, a new report reveals. There are also "many opportunities" for them to "fall down the cracks between services" and more than...

mental health; Welsh groups plead to delay legislation.(Welsh charities delayed new mental health legislation )(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Welsh charities are to take their fight to delay new mental health legislation to the national assembly after warning that proposals are likely to stretch services to breaking point. They cite a shortage of mental health professionals, fragile...

older people; Service outsourcing 'puts lives at risk'.
August 4, 2005... The lives of older people are being put at risk by systemic breaches of human rights in the social care system, a report claims. The outsourcing of social care services to private care providers who are not covered by the existing human rights...

who wrote this?(youth green paper: Youth Matters)(youth voluntary services)
August 4, 2005... There are good ideas in the youth green paper, and some bold ideals, but for Bob Holman, grand proposals hailed by ministers and penned by anonymous but well-heeled civil servants, are doomed At last the Department for Education and Skills...

rings of ire.(local people opinion on olympic games)
August 4, 2005... Olympic dream or Olympic nightmare? It depends where you live, reports Katie Leason, who speaks to east Londoners who fear that, even if the medals roll in for Britain, some local people will finish losers Beach volleyball on Horse Guards...

regulation; More checks for struggling services.(social care services inspection)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2005... Poor care providers could be inspected several times a year and good performers once every three years under proposals unveiled last week by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. The reform, which would require changes to regulations,...

substance misuse by derren hayes; Volunteers mount legal action after assembly axes drug project funding.(volunteers from Youthlink Wales )(National Assembly of Wales)
August 4, 2005... A group of volunteers who educate young people about drug misuse are to launch a legal challenge against the Welsh assembly's decision to scrap funding for their project. The 40 volunteers from Youthlink Wales plan a judicial review against...

summer holiday reads.(the books the readers prefer for summer)
August 4, 2005... We asked some of our readers and reviewers what books they'll be packing for their holidays. The answer: everything from an Italian mystery to Rohinton Mistry. The garden seemingly isn't the only place for a good Potter, as our readers also dig...

'I AM PROUD TO BE OLD'.(aging is related to physical but not realted to mind)(Column)
August 4, 2005... this life Despite the physical problems of older age, Richard Jameson finds that his mind is still vibrant and lively Old age is not just an attitude of mind, it is a blooming state. Arthritis, angina, hacking cough, dimming eyes, bad hip...

is social care now too clever?(Community partners, a new profession)(Column)
August 4, 2005... viewpoint It may be time to create a new profession where practitioners can cross sector boundaries, argues David Robinson I was recently called by the mother of a child I know well. She was asking me to come to a family case conference....

testament of youth.(youth green paper says youth should involve in development activities)
August 4, 2005... Anabel Unity Sale gauges reactions to the key proposals in the youth green paper while, overleaf, Joyce Moseley emphasises the need for young people to be involved in planning initiatives Youth Matters aims to do for young people what the...

they need to be involved.(young people services)
August 4, 2005... The youth green paper could radically improve the lot of many teenagers, as long as they engage with the planning of its initiatives, argues Joyce Moseley So here it is. After a long wait Youth Matters is published and out for...

grandparents drop family anchor role.(Grandparent-child relations)
August 4, 2005... Yvonne roberts The image of jetsetting older people is hardly reality for many of those with caring roles Advertisers love labels. We now have five types of grandparents - adventure seekers, racy role models, hearts of gold, traditionalists...

children by mithran samuel; Child health and youth justice will not fall under single inspectorate.
August 11, 2005... The government has rejected calls from social care leaders to bring child health and youth justice under the responsibility of the proposed single children's inspectorate. A consultation on the inspectorate, launched last month, does not...

voluntary sector; Social divides set to grow if cuts bite.(government funding to community groups)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Social exclusion will increase unless government agencies step in to replace funding to community groups set to run out next year. That is the verdict of a report from Invest 2006, which supports the voluntary sector in the North East. It says...

rough sleepers; Warning on apeing Westminster policy.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Local authorities planning to copy Westminster's controversial "building-based" approach to rough sleeping have been urged to proceed with caution. The central London council last month replaced its outreach teams with services based in...

policy; Civil servants must study social care.(social service policy)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... The Department of Health has said that its needs to improve its knowledge of, and relations with, the social care sector. In its plan for 2005-6, it lists "giving stronger leadership to the social care and health systems" as one of six key...

drugs misuse; Specialists fail to reach needy Scots.(drug related death investigations)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Only one in eight people in Scotland who died in 2003 due to drug use were in contact with specialist drug services shortly before their death, according to research. The national investigation into all drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2003...

long-term care; Man's best friend is cure for depression.(company of a dog can prevent depressions)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Could chemists soon have to add animal expertise to their formidable pharmaceutical knowledge? This latest example of "breaking down silos" comes with the news that the range of treatments on the NHS for the long-term sick is being extended in...

If you ask me...(Gordon Doh Fondo)(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 11, 2005... Gordon Doh Fondo volunteers for the Love Asylum Seekers & Refugees Project. He is an exiled journalist from Cameroon Who has had the biggest influence on you? Jesus Christ. Which health or social care professional has been most use to...

asylum seekers by amy taylor; Councils demand rethink on placing failed asylum-seeker children in care.
August 11, 2005... A group of councils are demanding that the government reviews the policy under which children of failed asylum seekers can be taken into care. Ten councils in the Greater Manchester area plus Blackburn with Darwen cite the distress children...

cartel risk to staff pay.
August 11, 2005... The question of what to do about social care workers' pay has never been satisfactorily answered. The single status agreement held out the promise of improvement in the late 1990s, but a council workers' strike three years ago resulted in the...

child protection; 'Proposals ignore role of social work'.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... The vital role played by experienced social workers in child protection has not been given enough emphasis in new government proposals, the British Association of Social Workers claims. Its professional officer for England, Nushra Mapstone,...

efficiency; Adult services top choice for savings.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Adult social care's position as the top target for government-ordered efficiency gains has been reinforced by figures showing more than [pounds sterling]110m was saved from the service last year. Of nearly [pounds sterling]760m eked out of...

exclusive by simeon brody; Talking therapies trial to get people with depression back in workforce.
August 11, 2005... The effectiveness of psychological therapies for people with depression is to be tested, Community Care has learned. A government pilot will study whether talking therapies, particularly cognitive behavioural therapy, will help people with...

foster care; Leeds faces payout for removing boy.(Leeds Council)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... The local government ombudsman has asked Leeds Council to pay a foster family [pounds sterling]57,000 for unlawfully removing a child from their care - one of the highest payout requests it has made. The family were forced to fight a nine-month...

fostering; More awareness of regulations needed.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Language schools and foreign embassies need to be made more aware of the recently introduced private fostering rules, according to campaigners. The new regulations and minimum standards require private foster carers to notify local authorities...

housing by simeon brody; Charity plans campaign to promote the benefits of Supporting People.
August 11, 2005... T he relentless bad press experienced by Supporting People is to be countered by a charity campaign highlighting its benefits. The campaign, designed by charity Homeless Link and set to start this autumn to coincide with a government...

arresting development.(caring disabled children )
August 11, 2005... Recent research into young people with learning difficulties who sexually abuse shows the need for early intervention, writes Rachel Fyson The main finding of a report in 2000 into abuse and disabled children was that social services were...

mix and match.(young people in care)
August 11, 2005... Ravinder Barn presents some illuminating findings from research into the ethnicity and life outcomes of young people in care It has long been established that children and young people from certain ethnic minority groups are...

older people; Devon budget cut prompts outrage.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Action on Elder Abuse has rounded on Devon Council over a plan to cut preventive services for older people to tackle a possible [pounds sterling]2.1m social care overspend. The pressure group criticised a memo from Devon's deputy director of...

basic instinct.(stepfamilies)(Column)
August 11, 2005... Whether we like it or not stepfamilies are more likely to be troubled than other families. And the reason for this is entirely natural, concludes Alison Taylor, drawing from her personal experience My mother was my father's third wife. His...

faith, hope and clarity.(improving community relations)
August 11, 2005... As the Home Office began a series of meetings with Muslim leaders to come up with proposals to improve community relations, Natalie Valios looks at the efforts already being made to challenge the rise in anti-Muslim attacks and sentiment ...

recruitment; 'Pay scales needed' to halt Welsh crisis.
August 11, 2005... National pay scales for social workers, or a series of regional ones, could be developed to tackle Wales's recruitment crisis, the long-awaited report into the Welsh social services workforce recommends. The existing situation, where 22 local...

scrap section nine.(caring asylum seekers)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Eleven local authorities have called on the Home Office to rethink its policy of taking the children of failed asylum seekers into care if they refuse to leave the country. Those councils are to be congratulated for raising their heads above...

sheltered housing; Providers told to widen their vision.(rented sheltered housing)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Traditional approaches to managing the UK's 600,000 rented sheltered housing units are no longer applicable but the sector still has much to offer, according to a report out this week. Despite negative perceptions of the sheltered housing...

sheltered housing; Executive admits to council tax blunder.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... The Scottish executive may reimburse residents of sheltered homes who have had to pay council tax on their rooms. It was revealed this week that changes brought in by the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 have led to some residents...

standards; Groups sound alarm ; on inspection plans.(inspection of care providers)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Older people's groups have warned that proposals to cut the inspection burden on good care providers may leave users at risk. Age Concern and Help the Aged said Commission for Social Care Inspection plans to comprehensively inspect top...

service with st igma?(issues of Stepfamilies)
August 11, 2005... The particular needs of stepfamilies are often overlooked by social services. Is this because of social stigma or fear of being labelled failures, asks Anabel Unity Sale Family units are increasingly diverse and being part of a stepfamily...

recovery position.(eating disorder units)(Column)
August 11, 2005... this life Eating disorder units could benefit from a rethink on staffing and policies, according to Alex Williams Visiting some friends in eating disorder units (EDUs) has made me think about the best methods of helping those with anorexia....

any wonder they truant?(education volunteeers trying to improve attndance rate in schools)
August 11, 2005... Education social workers are trying to improve school attendance rates but, as Ken Reid writes, they are stretched to the limit, and it does not help that they do not support current anti-truancy measures Children who fail to attend school...

more fun would do for a start.(Commission on Equality and Human Rights)
August 11, 2005... viewpoint There are facets of older people's lives that no green paper, however well executed, can deliver, writes Paul Cann Legislation that provides people with more control over their lives for longer, such as that proposed in the adult...

workforce; Agency hired staff without checks.(Commission for Social Care Inspection)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Ahome care agency has been damned in an inspection report that revealed staff were employed without security checks. The Commission for Social Care Inspection said care users were put at risk at two branches of Local Solutions' home care...

young offenders; Blast for 'policy vacuum' in prisons.(Brief Article)
August 11, 2005... Young adult prisoners are "languishing in a political and policy vacuum" in many jails, a report has warned. Research by the Howard League for Penal Reform, published last week, finds that prison is failing to tackle the needs of 18- to 20-...

We still don't know what 'British' means.(racism)
August 11, 2005... Yvonne roberts "Traditional British virtues" have been hailed in the UK press of late. But they are a myth The number of racially motivated attacks have increased hugely, especially in the inner city areas, while the media is working hard...

workforce; Civil servant's loan could be extended.(Association of Directors of Social Services)(Brief Article)
August 18, 2005... The planned secondment of a civil servant from the Department of Health to the Association of Directors of Social Services could become a long-term arrangement. The secondment, believed to be unprecedented, would initially last a year but could...

workforce; Union backs Welsh social work plan.
August 18, 2005... Plans to develop a Wales-wide or regional approach to recruiting social workers and setting pay and conditions have won crucial union backing. Unison Cymru regional organiser Dominic MacAskill welcomed recommendations in a workforce report...

children; N Ireland gets first children's minister.(Northern Ireland first minister for children is Lord Rooker )(Brief Article)
August 18, 2005... Campaigners have welcomed the appointment this week of Lord Rooker as Northern Ireland's first minister for children. Northern Ireland children's commissioner, Nigel Williams, and Lynda Wilson, director of Barnardo's Northern Ireland, said...

Differences between sectors hamper managers' success.(Brief Article)
August 18, 2005... Asuccessful leader in one sector may not be a high-flier in a different sector or organisation. This is according to a survey of 800 senior managers and directors in the public and private sectors. It shows significant differences between...

Employers complain of poor service from records bureau.(Criminal Records Bureau )
August 18, 2005... Athird of employers using the Criminal Records Bureau say the information provided is not always accurate and a quarter are dissatisfied with its service, according to a new survey, writes Derren Hayes. The findings are worrying for child...

plan your career.(social workers advises of career choices)
August 18, 2005... Choosing your career is one of the most important decisions you will make but it doesn't end there, writes Nathalie Towner. You will continue to make choices throughout your working life. The day-to-day challenges of social work may take...

If you ask me...(Fraser Irwin )(social worker)(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 18, 2005... Fraser Irwin is aged 23. He lives at Pearce Lodge, a Boys' and Girls' Welfare Society unit for young adults with physical and learning disabilities Who has had the biggest influence on you? Michelle, my girlfriend. Which health or...

ON ; THE ; MOVE.(people appointments, promotions)(Jill Stannard as new corporate director of Cumbria Council)(Richard Webb as new corporate director at Telford & Wrekin Council)(Enver Solomon joined Revolving Doors)(Brief Article)
August 18, 2005... Cumbria Council has appointed JILL STANNARD as new corporate director for adult services. She will join Cumbria from Hampshire Council, where she is assistant director of social services. RICHARD WEBB (right) is the new corporate director...