Community Care articles from July 2003

Community Care archives from July 2003

model answer.
July 3, 2003... Adopted children have generally been served well by the life story model which helped to retain and record the history and significant moments of a child's life. But it is now time to move on, writes adoption worker Edith Nicholls, who here...

when family life is not possible.
July 3, 2003... Residential care for children is seen by some social workers as a sign of failure and only to be considered when numerous, better, options have been tried, tried again and failed. But, while all the inquiries into abuse in residential care...

diary.
July 3, 2003... MondaY One of my residents has become unwell following a recent change in medication. His monthly depot injections have been replaced with Olanzapine tablets because he had been experiencing post-administration pain. Some of the symptoms that...

change the record.
July 3, 2003... The first year of the Criminal Records Bureau featured long delays in processing and now an increase in the cost of police checks. Derren Hayes asks whether the coming year will be any better for social care

no more pretending.
July 3, 2003... letter from australia The resignation of Australia's governor-general is hopefully a major step towards ending years of acquiescence to child abuse by clergymen and other figures in authority, says Chris Goddard On 25 May this year,...

teenAGE WASTELAND.
July 3, 2003... It has been almost a year since the Homelessness Act 2002 came into effect, yet it appears to have made little difference to some homeless people. This is despite its promises to transform the way local authorities with housing responsibilities...

long-term care by Craig kenny; Failure to fund continuing care leads to huge surge in complaints.
July 3, 2003... A record number of complaints was made to England's health service ombudsman last year, many of them against health authorities that had refused to fund continuing care in nursing homes. In her annual report, the health ombudsman Ann...

children; New targets set for care proceedings.
July 3, 2003... Targets for speeding up care proceedings for looked-after children have been launched by the new Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department. It has issued a protocol to try to reduce judicial case...

asylum seekers; Wrexham riots lead to call for change.
July 3, 2003... Housing policy should be changed and greater support offered to refugees living in Wrexham after riots on a council estate there. Marjorie Dykins, secretary of the Wrexham refugee and asylum seeker support group, said following the violence...

workplaCE by amy taylor; Social workers urged to 'take risks'.
July 3, 2003... More confidence needs to be placed in child protection social workers so they can take risks, according to new findings from independent think-tank Demos. The research argues that the present system deters child protection social workers...

paper talk.
July 3, 2003... Jane Held on the Association of Directors of Social Services' hopes and fears for the green paper on children

children; First commissioner in Northern Ireland.
July 3, 2003... Children's charities and social care professionals have welcomed the appointment of Northern Ireland's first commissioner for children, Nigel Williams. Williams is currently chief executive of Childnet International, which specialises in...

mental health by katie leason; Mental incapacity proposals set to create new powers of attorney.
July 3, 2003... difficulty making decisions and empowering those who can to make as many decisions as possible. But co-chairperson of the National Forum of People with Learning Difficulties Joan Scott said that forum members were concerned that the draft...

housing; Federation seeks government pledge.
July 3, 2003... A leading social housing group has called for assurances that adequate funding will be available to help vulnerable people next year. The National Housing Federation is concerned that Supporting People schemes beginning between April 2004...

benefits; Involved users demand action.
July 3, 2003... The new minister for social care has asked a service user involvement body to produce a paper on the problems users experience with the benefits system when receiving payment for involvement work. Stephen Ladyman made the request to the...

disabilities; Genetics proposals ignore views of disabled people, say pressure groups.
July 3, 2003... Disability rights campaigners have criticised a new government white paper on genetic research for ignoring the impact of the new science on disabled people. The white paper, Our Inheritance, Our Future, published last week, proposes to...

mental health ; 'Public attitudes have worsened'.
July 3, 2003... Attitudes towards people with mental illness have become worse over the past three years, research has revealed. A survey commissioned by the Department of Health shows that attitudes towards people with mental illness stayed the same...

children; Private member's bill set to force the issue of a parental smacking ban.
July 3, 2003... Following the government's refusal to outlaw "reasonable chastisement" as a defence by parents on child abuse charges, backbench MPs are set to try instead. By Debbie Andalo A private member's bill that would make it a criminal offence for...

service users ; 'Care must be based on human rights'.
July 3, 2003... Asocial care system involving all service users is impossible unless it is underpinned by a human rights framework, the chairperson of the Social Care Institute for Excellence said last week. Speaking at the launch conference of Shaping Our...

mental health; Parents influence GP referral patterns.
July 3, 2003... Children who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are likely to be referred to specialist services if their parents ask their GP to do so, the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Edinburgh was told this week....

young people by clare jerrom; Charities attack Scottish strategy to crack down on antisocial behaviour.
July 3, 2003... Charities have rounded on proposals to tackle antisocial behaviour in Scotland, saying they will do nothing to address the causes of crime. Homelessness charity Shelter and the Aberlour Child Care Trust said a consultation document launched...

health; Access to health care 'still unequal'.
July 3, 2003... In his first speech as health secretary, John Reid said access to health services continued to vary according to wealth and class, despite the egalitarian principles of the NHS. Speaking at the NHS Confederation's annual conference in...

voluntary sector; Drug services 'face crisis' if law changes.
July 3, 2003... Proposed changes to legislation could result in the managers of services for drug users being prosecuted and services being closed, the voluntary sector has warned. Under the Criminal Justice Bill, dealing or intent to deal class C drugs,...

young people; Caring role harms education prospects.
July 3, 2003... T aking on a caring role can be a major barrier to a child's education, research published this week by charity Carers UK reveals. Poor educational attainment, truancy, lateness and bullying are common problems among children under 16 who...

education; Few looked-after children make grade.
July 3, 2003... Only 8 per cent of looked-after children aged 16 achieved five GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C in the 12 months to the end of September 2002, according to the Department of Health. The figure, which is unchanged from 2001, has cast...

readers' views; Narrow majority backs smacking ban.
July 3, 2003... Aslim majority of visitors to Community Care's website felt that smacking by parents and carers should be banned. Following MPs' calls for the removal of the defence of "reasonable chastisement" last week, 59 per cent of visitors said...

public order; Keep the peace and be in with a shout.
July 3, 2003... People who stand up to their noisy neighbours will receive a financial award under a government scheme. The "Taking a Stand" awards will reward those who are prepared to tackle the behaviour of thugs, vandals and "neighbours from hell" in...

children; Scotland 'shying away from change'.
July 3, 2003... Scotland has ducked out of radically changing children's policy despite powers to pass primary legislation, a children's charity says. NCH says Scotland has produced hundreds of strategies and plans, but "major reforms and resources have...

children; Islington allegation hangs over Hodge.
July 3, 2003... Children's minister Margaret Hodge came under pressure to resign this week following allegations about her leadership of Islington Council more than a decade ago. Two former Islington Council social workers claimed that she failed to...

children; Doubts emerge over expert witness.
July 3, 2003... Pressure is mounting on the government to set up a review of care proceedings cases in which child abuse expert professor Sir Roy Meadow, has given evidence. Vera Baird MP has written to secretary of state for constitutional affairs Lord...

mental Health; New figures show extent of disorders.
July 3, 2003... One in 10 people aged 60-74 living at home has a common mental disorder, such as anxiety, depression and phobia, new government statistics reveal. Research published by the Office of National Statistics highlights the link between income...

why life story work is failing.
July 3, 2003... l It confuses the need for information with the need for direct or therapeutic work. It has no structural framework, no direction as to when to start, when to do what and when to end. It has the potential to deny the promotion of a...

asylum seekers by Craig Kenny; New doctors' contract will boost investment in refugee services.
July 3, 2003... Primary care services for refugees and asylum seekers will receive a boost following the vote by the UK's GPs in favour of a new contract, the government has predicted. Last month, almost 80 per cent of GPs voted for a new general medical...

when carers let you down.
July 3, 2003... Our multidisciplinary panel assesses a case involving a man with cerebral palsy whose carers began to show up latea if at all panel responses samantha Robinson In an ideal situation, after a lengthy period in hospital, one would...

a refugee's joy and pain.
July 3, 2003... The abandonment of one's country to settle in another can be very daunting, especially for those traumatised by war or persecution. The only way their suffering can be assuaged is through social services. When I arrived in the UK two and a half...

research into practice.
July 3, 2003... As the pressure to reduce delayed discharges has risen, the spotlight has fallen on home care services. Judy Robison on some recent findings Home care is integral to plans for tackling delated discharges from hospital, and in the expansion...

alcohol ; Report highlights lack of services.
July 3, 2003... Thousands of people who misuse alcohol are being denied the help they need, Alcohol Concern has warned. A report from the charity states that alcohol services are "under-funded" and recommends a threefold increase in resources as a...

GeneticS can divide and CONQUER us.
July 3, 2003... Welcome to a brave new world in which social workers may one day be expected to double as gene police. Last week new health minister John Reid announced that [pounds sterling]50m would be spent to graft the genetic revolution on to the NHS. ...

acting the part.
July 3, 2003... Graham Hopkins reports on the production of a video called Assert Yourself, in which professional actors with learning difficulties use drama to help service users speak up "I'm pretty damn gorgeous," declares Jane staring into a mirror...

green paper stalled.
July 10, 2003... The decision to delay publication of the children's green paper was accompanied by a great deal of humbug from the government and greeted in the press by more of the same. If the prime minister really wanted to attend the launch, somebody...

stress the positive.
July 10, 2003... All stressed up with nowhere to go? Social care is notoriously blighted by stress. So what can we do to reduce its negative impact? Andrew McCulloch and Janet Seden offer some practical tips Stress in the workplace is widely considered to...

standards by Katie Leason; Inspectors take new steps to update performance assessment process.
July 10, 2003... Self-audits carried out in the wake of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry report will be fed into this year's social services star ratings system, the Social Services Inspectorate has confirmed. The audits of councils' safety procedures for...

launch pad to ; higher standards.
July 10, 2003... Some of the best-performing councils are putting together a radical plan of action to improve services in four areas. Their methods may not be orthodox but, as Natalie Valios reports, they come with the blessing of the government ...

everybody out.
July 10, 2003... It might not have been as momentous as the various miners' disputes, but the national social workers' strike of 1978 is still a source of debate 25 years on, writes Terry Philpot The year 1978 ended with a welter of industrial disputes...

no grounds for testing.
July 10, 2003... Last autumn, I was invited to Havering's learning difficulties centre to meet a consultant psychiatrist for adults with learning difficulties. He told me about some proposed tests for local adults with learning difficulties who received...

long walk to freedom.
July 10, 2003... For too long women asylum seekers and refugees have been invisible, locked away from British society through fear or abuse. But change is on the way as services recognise the contribution these women can make, reports Janet Snell Women...

the system seems oblivious to need.
July 10, 2003... I've worked within social services and health for 15 years and I have always known that it is an inadequate and overstretched service, but I recently had personal experience of the gaping holes in the net. My mother-in-law is informally...

children by david brown; Large providers planning to muscle in on privately run children's homes.
July 10, 2003... Private sector children's homes face a series of takeovers as the market becomes dominated by large companies, it is predicted. Owners have reported unprecedented interest from prospective buyers in recent months. Tom Starkey,...

voluntary sector; Lottery shake-up could cost Scots.
July 10, 2003... The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations has raised concerns that Scottish charities could lose out under proposed changes to the lottery announced last week. Under the changes, the merger of the Community Fund and New...

mental health; Doctors failing to uncover problems.
July 10, 2003... GPs and hospital staff are failing to spot undiagnosed mental health problems in patients attending surgeries and A&E departments for physical ailments, according to new research. Researchers at Keele University found that a "significant...

asylum seekers; Child detentions 'must be reviewed'.
July 10, 2003... Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown last week urged the Home Office to "review its policy" on detaining the children of asylum seekers, backing Community Care's campaign aim to stop this practice. "It is entirely unacceptable in a civilised...

workforce; Workers cash in as bidding war hots up.
July 10, 2003... A social worker bidding war has resulted in nearly a quarter of Scottish councils offering "golden handcuff" payments of up to [pounds sterling]6,000. East Dunbartonshire Council is the latest local authority to offer award bonus payments...

asylum seekers by clare jerrom; Move to regionalise asylum support wins backing from campaign groups.
July 10, 2003... The move last week by immigration minister Beverley Hughes to regionalise the National Asylum Support Service has been welcomed by refugee campaigners who have been calling for the change since Nass was set up in 1999. Nass is to open 12...

Duncan Smith promises more police at expense of refugees.
July 10, 2003... Iain Duncan Smith has pledged to fund the recruitment of 40,000 extra police officers by cutting spending on asylum seekers and refugees by two-thirds as part of a radical shake-up of local services. The Conservative leader said that, if...

care workers; Government pledge on drugs law fails to convince staff on immunity.
July 10, 2003... Drugs legislation going through parliament would still leave care workers at risk of prosecution despite government assurances to the contrary. Debbie Andalo reports Care agencies and their staff could be prosecuted for looking after...

'Bad politics' slow decentralisation.
July 10, 2003... Political squabbling among councillors is often the biggest barrier to improving local public services, the conference was told. Charlie Leadbetter, a member of the Demos think tank and an adviser to the government, said the increasing...

Councils rally against 'unnecessary' proposals on antisocial behaviour.
July 10, 2003... Local authorities could be on a collision course with the government over the implementation of more punitive measures in the drive to tackle antisocial behaviour. The Local Government Association annual conference in Harrogate was told...

Prescott critical of chief executives' pay awards.
July 10, 2003... The government has signalled it could step in to curb the high levels of pay being awarded to local authority chief executives and other senior managers. Deputy prime minister John Prescott said pay for senior staff was an issue that "we...

policy; Health inequalities to be confronted.
July 10, 2003... Performance measures for tackling health inequalities are to be introduced in a move to improve the health of disadvantaged groups. The measures, announced by health secretary John Reid last week, will be included in guidance for local...

'She didn't listen to her staff'.
July 10, 2003... In 1990, when I was a senior social worker employed by Islington Council, my colleagues and I identified patterns indicative of sexual abuse among a number of vulnerable local young people. Housing and environmental officers working in the...

older people; Concerns take gloss off boost in funding.
July 10, 2003... Health minister Stephen Ladyman has announced an [pounds sterling]87m fund to increase the number of "extra care" homes available for vulnerable older people. Divided into [pounds sterling]29m in 2004-5 and [pounds sterling]58m in 2005-6,...

children; 'Crime-busting shop' mooted by Blunkett.
July 10, 2003... The home secretary is to investigate ways of strengthening powers to "restrain and deal with violent and antisocial young children", he announced this week. Speaking at a national criminal justice conference in London, David Blunkett said...

'I only made one mistake'.
July 10, 2003... In 1990, when I was leader of Islington Council, Liz Davies's boss, David Cofie, came to see me and said he thought a paedophile was operating out of a house. I was beside myself with worry. I took it to people who were senior to Cofie and the...

education; A chance to drive up language standards.
July 10, 2003... Asian women in Yorkshire are being given help with the theory part of the driving test thanks to a course run by a Leeds-based education charity. Learning Partnerships teaches Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, who often have difficulty...

readers' views; More independence urged for workers.
July 10, 2003... Nearly two-thirds of visitors to Community Care's website believe giving child protection social workers more autonomy would improve their professional practice. Sixty-five per cent agree with a recommendation from think-tank Demos that...

child protection; Guardians warn of mass exodus.
July 10, 2003... An exodus of children's guardians is likely, putting at risk many vulnerable children, the national association of children's guardians Nagalro has warned. A survey by the association warns that, since the establishment of the Children and...

children by amy taylor and clare jerrom; News of commissioner sweetens bitter pill of green paper's delay.
July 10, 2003... The government confirmed this week that an independent children's commissioner for England is to be appointed but that the publication of the green paper on children has been put back until the autumn. Caroline Abrahams, director of public...

book reviews.
July 10, 2003... Terry Bamford on a course book on management and Anthony Douglas on a guide to child care assessments This reader was produced in conjunction with an Open University course targeted at managers. The changing demands and the conflicting...

dividends of the hodge controversy.
July 10, 2003... T he continuing saga of whether Margaret Hodge should go or stay has produced an unexpected bonus for social care - for once, it isn't social workers who are being clobbered. The suitability of Hodge as children's minister, given her...

research into practice.
July 10, 2003... Bernard Moss evaluates a study of how children cope when parents separate which explores ways of tailoring services to children's needs Does more mean better? Not necessarily so. This is one of the findings of a recent report1 that looked...

Behind the headlines.
July 10, 2003... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news A single assessment process for the care of older people would, it was hoped, ensure efficient assessments of their health and social care needs without the disorganised intervention of a...

vigilance or; ignorance?
July 10, 2003... The idea we should all be told when a sex offender moves into our street has been around for some time. The argument is that the sex offenders' register, held by the police, should be open for public inspection so that we can all better protect...

need for a swift decision.
July 10, 2003... Hospital social workers Jane Boulton (left, top) and Rebecca Linton had to assess an older woman brought into accident and emergency for vital decisions about her future, while balancing her wishes with those of her relatives. Graham Hopkins...

Time to move on.
July 10, 2003... Hardly had Margaret Hodge been appointed minister for children than some were calling for her to resign. They allege she did not do enough to respond to allegations of abuse in children's homes and the existence of a paedophile ring in the...

delayed reaction.
July 10, 2003... Jon Glasby is a lecturer at the University of Birmingham's Health Services Management Centre References 1 J Glasby, "The wrong remedy", Community Care, 5 December, 2002 Background Reading J Glasby, Hospital discharge:...

attitude problem.
July 10, 2003... The UK's twitching suburban curtains hide a suspicious and misinformed people. So it's time the media began to recognise the positive contribution made to this country by asylum seekers, writes Melissa Benn Every so often, my two daughters...

Racism remains rife.
July 17, 2003... Race equality legislation supposedly implemented more than a year ago was meant to produce dramatic results in the public sector. But the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 has had no such impact on the promotion of race equality. This is...

housing; Capped budgets threaten schemes.
July 17, 2003... Schemes for vulnerable people in Wales could be abandoned after being allocated inadequate funding by the Welsh assembly, the social housing sector warned last week. Cymorth Cymru, a network for supported housing providers in Wales, said...

workforce; Deadlock in duty team pay battle.
July 17, 2003... Birmingham social services department and its emergency duty team are locked in a battle over pay, which has seen EDT staff refusing to carry out sections since the beginning of May. According to public sector union Unison, the dispute...

exclusive by lauren revans and clare jerrom; Leaked document points to major shake-up of child protection system.
July 17, 2003... Area child protection committees will be scrapped and the child protection register phased out under proposals in the children's green paper, according to a government document leaked to Community Care this week. The draft of the...

workplace; Think-tank wants dual practitioners.
July 17, 2003... The integration of health and social care can best be achieved through "health care practitioners", the Institute for Public Policy Research argues in a new report. Combining elements of nursing, occupational therapy, social work and home...

workplace; Council chief takes over social services.
July 17, 2003... Northamptonshire Council's chief executive is to assume responsibility for social services in response to Lord Laming's report into the death of Victoria Climbie. A spokesperson for the council said Peter Gould had acted on a...

children; Publicity needed for advocacy services.
July 17, 2003... Ronald Waterhouse has called for advocacy services for vulnerable children to be publicised, arguing that many children are still unaware of how to complain or where to obtain support to do so. Speaking at a conference earlier this month on...

legal; Expelled student seeks damages.
July 17, 2003... A woman from Devon claims she was thrown off a social work course in September 1999 after her local council informed her university that her son had been put into foster care six years earlier. Helen Maddock told the High Court in London...