Community Care articles from June 2004

Community Care archives from June 2004

front line sags in backroom battles.
June 3, 2004... In the past 40 years we have placed considerable faith in the ability of new laws and procedures to do a better job of protecting children. Yet inquiries still continue into the serious abuse and death of children whose circumstances were...

workforce; Care council to ease hire of Filipino staff.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The General Social Care Council has met with government officials from the Philippines over plans to make it easier for their social workers to obtain jobs in the UK. The GSCC has advised the Philippine Embassy in London about the...

regeneration; 'Deprived areas need single fund'.(Social services administration)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... A new fund which combines revenue streams is needed to provide a sustainable approach to regeneration, says the National Housing Federation. The federation has warned that the creation of sustainable communities was being hindered by an...

The Simon Heng Column A service user's view of social care.
June 3, 2004... "Professional boundaries might be important to you, but they are not to service users," health minister Stephen Ladyman told Community Care Live last month. Well, yes, but a constant moan of disabled people has been that, when one's needs...

cook's tour.
June 3, 2004... How much does any right-thinking social services manager want or need to know about finance systems? The answer is rather a lot. It's an unfortunate fact of life that understanding how to get the most out of your finance system is the key to...

If you ask me...(interview)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 3, 2004... Joan Scott, mother of seven, and director of self-advocacy group Action Unlimited Who has had the biggest influence on you? Andrew Holman at Community Living. In the day centre I wouldn't say boo to a goose but with his support I have...

wand waver lacks magic.
June 3, 2004... Deprived of any meaningful power, the children's commissioner for England will be more government poodle than children's watchdog, argues Kristyn Wise Imagine for a moment the final book in the Harry Potter series. Harry, young champion of...

just the beginning.(health care industry)
June 3, 2004... If the white paper on health merely sets out ways for the NHS to reduce smoking and obesity it will be a huge disappointment. Instead, it should be paving the way for more local input, says Anna Coote I do not envy the task of the white...

final farewell.(care of the sick)
June 3, 2004... People caring for terminally ill relatives or friends are often more distressed than those facing death. But support services are available, reports Katie Leason Caring for someone we love who is dying has to be one of the hardest things...

government health warning.
June 3, 2004... For the past 12 weeks many in the social care sector have been taking more than a sideways glance at the government's latest initiative on public health. But there are fears that the white paper, to be published in July, will not place enough...

regeneration; 'Sector roles still not understood'.(local strategic partnerships)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The specific role of public, voluntary and private sector partnerships in driving forward neighbourhood renewal is still not fully understood, according to a leading figure in regeneration. Jon Bright, head of implementation at the...

policy; Ladyman vows to listen, but warns profession: there will be change.
June 3, 2004... His style may be blunt but the community care minister can afford to be bullish after a successful first year. He tells Derren Hayes about his vision for the future and why standing still is not an option Stephen Ladyman has had an eventful...

asylum seekers; Blow for applicants in appeal process.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Asylum seekers appealing against deportation are to lose their automatic right to remain in the UK while their cases are being heard, Appeal Court judges ruled last week. Lord Justice Brooke said the change should be brought about because...

workforce; Pensions in chaos after staff transfer.(Essex Careers & Business Partnership)(Essex, Southend and Thurrock Connexions partnership)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... About 200 employees of a council-owned organisation that lost its contract to help teenagers could have their company pensions halved, it was feared last week. Essex Careers & Business Partnership provided services for Essex, Southend and...

local government; Evidence supports county-wide care.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Social services look set to remain at a county level in northern England following a review of local government. The possible creation of three regional assemblies in the North has prompted a review of lower tiers of local government in...

workforce by derren hayes; Social care workers in line for cash incentives to retrain and add skills.
June 3, 2004... The social care workforce could be offered financial incentives to retrain and multi-skill if the government decides to push ahead with NHS-style reforms. Community care minister Stephen Ladyman told employers and service providers at a...

voluntary sector; Draft bill aims to boost confidence with 'public benefit' test.
June 3, 2004... Queen Elizabeth Iwas on the throne when the law on charities was passed in 1601. Sally Gillen reports on how the draft Charities Bill aims to sweep away the anomalies of the past and modernise relations between the voluntary sector and...

standards; Inspection regime 'faces difficulties'.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Social services directors are warning of problems in tailoring a coherent inspection regime for merged education and children's social services departments A discussion paper from Ofsted promises more emphasis on outcomes, with more input...

disabilities; Housing hitch in discrimination bill.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Measures to tackle discrimination against disabled people could reduce their choice about the type of housing available to them, experts have warned. An influential group of MPs and Lords has recommended that new disability legislation...

foster care by shirley kumar; Legal threat to councils that fail to pay fostering rate to kinship carers.
June 3, 2004... Fostering and adoption groups have warned councils to remove discriminatory policies against kinship carers or face legal action. Solicitors firm Ridley and Hall has already targeted Kirklees, Leeds, Bradford, Bolton, Hampshire, Surrey and...

workforce; Social workers come first in stress league.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Front-line social workers have topped the table of the most stressed professionals in the UK, according to new research. Of 25,000 individuals across 26 professions, social workers were the most psychologically stressed, had the third worst...

public order; Families could face compulsory course.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Families involved in persistent antisocial behaviour and faced with eviction might have to undertake residential rehabilitation courses under Home Office proposals. A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed that home secretary David...

slow train to equality.
June 3, 2004... Most of us would grumble if we had to wait half an hour for a train but disabled people have now been told they could wait until 2017 for all trains to be made accessible to them. A committee of MPs and peers calls that "an appropriate...

homelessness; MPs slam care in Northern Ireland.(Members of Parliament )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... T he Northern Ireland Housing Executive failed homeless people because it was too complacent, MPs have concluded. Homelessness in Northern Ireland has risen 50 per cent since 1999, making it the highest in the UK. There were "some...

Ladyman's bold agenda.
June 3, 2004... Social care for adults faces a period of change every bit as radical as that going on in children's services. Except, rather than education and social care, the main movers in adult services will be social care in a variety of alliances with...

voluntary sector; Government stands accused on Lottery.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has raised concerns that the government has ignored several of the culture, media and sport select committee's recommendations for reforming the National Lottery. In its March report, the...

my practice.(health care industry)
June 3, 2004... Child protection worker Clea Barry explains how becoming pregnant changed her relationships with her clients As a young child protection worker, I was often told by my clients that I knew nothing because I had no children myself. When I...

education; Extended services excused inspection.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Ofsted will not inspect or measure the impact on educational standards of new services provided by extended schools. Julian Piper, national director of the extended schools support service at education charity ContinYou, told teachers last...

Boys Who Have Abused: Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Victim/Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... John Woods, Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN 1843100932, [pounds sterling]17.95 Arnon Bentovim's foreword states that Woods is the ideal psychotherapist to write about the psychoanalytic approach to therapeutic work with young people...

long-term care; Minister pledges action on reviews.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... Community care minister Stephen Ladyman has said he is embarrassed by the time it has taken to identify the number of people who have been wrongly charged for personal care. Giving evidence to the health select committee's inquiry into...

web review.(social care)(Commission for Social Care Inspection)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... www.csci.gov.uk At first sight, the logo for the new Commission for Social Care Inspection bears a strong family resemblance to the logo for the Office for Standards in Education, writes Alison Castrey. Like Ofsted in relation to...

book reviews.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 3, 2004... Managing in Health and Social Care: Essential Checklists for Frontline Staff William Bryans, Radcliffe Medical Press ISBN 1857758560; [pounds sterling]19.95 Extra business support from team administrators and finance staff is...

training by Lauren revans; Students angered over care council's failure to fund transition to degree.(Department of Health and General Social Care Council)
June 3, 2004... The Department of Health and General Social Care Council have come under pressure from social work students this week to prove their commitment to the profession. In a letter to the Department of Health, second year Diploma in Social Work...

voluntary sector by Sally Gillen; Reform to outdated law puts onus on charities to prove public benefit.(health care)
June 3, 2004... An overhaul of 400-year-old charity law will mean charities have to prove their activities have a public benefit in the future. The draft Charities Bill published last week sets out 12 areas under which charities can operate but it does not...

grief's turning point.
June 3, 2004... Iremember so vividly the day, almost 40 years ago, when I went into my nine-year-old daughter Rosanne's bedroom and found her sobbing her heart out. I put my arms round her but did not say a word. I knew why she was crying because my own heart...

small ; successes.(health care industry)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 3, 2004... This article summarises the main findings from the early stages of the national evaluation of the Local Network Fund, a small grants scheme managed through the DfES which provides support for children and young people in poverty. So far...

health; School nurses reject weighing children.(health care industry)(Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2004... The Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association rejected MPs' calls this week to measure children's body mass index (BMI) every year in a drive to reduce obesity. Pat Jackson, the association's professional officer for school...

SERVICE EVALUATION.(Rural Emotional Support Team-nonprofit organization)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 3, 2004... Initial Evaluation of the Rural Emotional Support Team (Rest) Colin Reed. South Staffordshire CVS. Contact: 01785 255 305, E-mail: rest@ruralnet.org.uk This independent evaluation looks at the organisation, operation and impact of...

home life can quell threat.(health care industry)
June 3, 2004... Andrew Durham (left) explains to Graham Hopkins how keeping a sexually abused teenager in the family home, despite the danger he posed to his younger brother, proved the best way to untangle the original abuser's grooming of the...

life or death choices facing professionals.(health care industry)
June 3, 2004... A former teacher in her fifties who is severely ill with multiple sclerosis has won a landmark right to prevent local authority carers intervening to save her life. The woman, known only as Mrs C, is now active for only an hour a day. As...

recipe for retention.(health care industry)
June 3, 2004... Care home manager Helen Cook tells Graham Hopkins how she tackled recruitment and retention problems - which are particularly bad in the sector - head on As any inspector knows, a good indicator of the quality of care provided in a care...

let's prescribe honesty.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Four years after the NHS created the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), its effectiveness in disseminating clinical best practice has taken another blow, with damaging results for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms...

civic bodies must confront racism.
June 10, 2004... Once Iheard of a little-known culinary tip to encourage an obstinate jelly out of its mould. It involves using a hairdryer to apply heat so that the edges melt away and it can slip out. In a similar way, compassionate yet subversive challenges...

the sex trap.(Youth services)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... measures against sexual exploitation The National Crack Action Plan, published by the Home Office in 2002, highlighted the links between crack use and sex work, but also the need to educate young people with regard to "the specific risk of...

If you ask me...(Interview)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 10, 2004... Jane Campbell, chairperson of the Social Care Institute of Excellence and a wheelchair user Who has had the biggest influence on you? Professor Michael Oliver, and the developments he made regarding the social model of disability. ...

The final; reckoning.(Methods of closing the local authority social services account)
June 10, 2004... In this week's guide to navigating social services finances without budgetary shipwreck, Paul Cook enters the dangerous waters of closing the accounts Paul Cook is an independent consultant who has run social services finance...

suspicious minds.(Health care reform)
June 10, 2004... The government has invested much time, money and energy reforming mental health services. But there is still a feeling among users and professionals that the reforms are to keep society safe and not to improve well-being for users, reports Mark...

so how was it for you?(College students)(Interview)
June 10, 2004... Two years ago we interviewed five final year students who were about to embark on a career in social care. Louise Tickle finds out how they have fared Hopes were high when five final year students told Community Care in 2002 that they felt...

one size fits all?(Social services administration)
June 10, 2004... Rolling up all equality organisations into one super-commission could produce a truly liberating force - but only if the unified body puts mentally ill and disabled people at its heart, says Peter Beresford It's only very recently that we,...

the new big fish.(Equality and Human Rights Commission)
June 10, 2004... Will the proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights be able to deliver or will it be just another talking shop? Anabel Unity Sale asks the opinions of disability, race and human rights campaigners Liberte, egalite, fraternite. The...

the thrill of being old.
June 10, 2004... I love being old: every day is a new adventure. The first words I say when I wake up are "thank you". I feel lucky I was born in the early 1920s. We were poor and my father left when my mother was diagnosed with disseminated sclerosis. I...

workforce; New settings lure experienced staff.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Recruitment problems in mental health are being exacerbated in social services departments and acute hospitals by the departure of many highly qualified mental health workers to less traditional settings. The best workers were taking jobs...

policy by Community Care reporters; Charities deride mayoral candidates over lack of child welfare policies.
June 10, 2004... A coalition of children's charities challenged London's mayoral candidates last week to show their commitment to child welfare and protection ahead of this week's elections. The 35 charities, led by Barnardo's, Childline, NCH, NSPCC and...

mental health; Health department 'should steer bill'.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Liberal Democrats are supporting calls for a revised mental health bill driven by the Department of Health and not the Home Office. It follows a proposal in the draft mental health bill to detain indefinitely people with untreatable...

vulnerable adults; Rules force carers to shun registration.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Less than a third of the 5,000 adult placement carers in England are registered with regulators, a new report reveals. Research by training body Topss England and the National Association of Adult Placement Services has found that only...

mental health by craig kenny; NHS creating post-code lottery for patients with dementia, says charity.(National Health Service (UK))
June 10, 2004... People with Alzheimer's still face barriers to accessing anti-dementia drugs - despite their endorsement by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), it is claimed. The Alzheimer's Society says some NHS bodies are either...

education; Exam target slips for looked-after children.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The National Children's Bureau has backed a Local Government Association call for schools to be given a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of looked-after children and young people. The call follows the publication last...

Snowed under and stressed out, social workers send in the sicknotes.
June 10, 2004... Sick with stress, social care staff take a worrying amount of time off work. Shirley Kumar reports on how some councils are launching stress-busting initiatives A drive towards e-government, a fear of violence from clients, unmanageable...

standards; Scottish social work complaints review.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Social work complaints procedures are to be examined by the Scottish executive, according to the Scottish public service ombudsman Alice Brown. While the ombudsman deals with complaints from health, housing, parliament and other aspects of...

learning difficulties; GP registration moving too slowly.(General Practitioner (family doctor))(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The government has failed to achieve its target for people with learning difficulties to be registered with a GP by June 2004, as set out in the Valuing People white paper. A Department of Health spokesperson conceded that registration was...

mental health; 'GPs are ignoring dual diagnosis'.(general practitioner)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... People who have a physical impairment and a mental health problem are often overlooked by policy makers and commissioners of services, new findings suggest. Two-thirds of the 83 people surveyed had trouble obtaining mental health services...

people; Held appointed to care council post.(General Social Care Council appointments)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Former Camden social services director Jane Held has become interim director of regulation at the General Social Care Council. Held, who suddenly quit her job at Camden in December, joins this week until a person is appointed permanently....

public order; Man can only use NHS in emergency.(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The first NHS-wide antisocial behaviour order has been obtained by York Council. Under the interim order, Norman Hutchins is prevented from entering any medical centres including hospitals, dentists, walk-in centres, or GP surgeries in...

exclusive by Lauren Revans; Many front-line staff lack support and training at work, survey reveals.
June 10, 2004... Nearly half of front-line workers and their managers think they are inadequately supported and trained, and more than half would fear for their job if they blew the whistle on bad practice at work, new findings reveal. Community Care's...

homelessness; Better standards for temporary housing.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is to revise its homelessness guidance to include more stringent standards for housing homeless families in temporary accommodation. The revised code will detail best practice and is intended to...

fostering; Short care breaks hit by lack of funds.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Short foster care breaks for children from families under pressure have not been implemented due to lack of funding and staff turnover, says a report. It recommends an integrated approach between councils and central government to provide...

exclusive by Sally gillen; Care proceedings reviews set to leave social services out of pocket.
June 10, 2004... The legal bills involved in carrying out reviews of cases of children taken into care on the basis of disputed medical evidence are set to cost social services departments hundreds of thousands of pounds. Andrew Cozens, the president of the...

child protection; Paediatrician faces being struck off.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Apaediatrician involved in the case of Sally Clark, who was cleared of killing her two sons in January 2003, appeared before the General Medical Council professional conduct committee this week charged with serious professional misconduct. ...

public order; A suck it and see approach to crime.(Safer Streets campaign)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Lollipops are to be distributed to people leaving nightclubs in Basingstoke to try to deter them from antisocial behaviour. Basingstoke police are sponsoring the lollipop scheme in the town centre as part of the Safer Streets campaign. ...

child protection; Douglas to head up guardians' body.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)
June 10, 2004... Anthony Douglas, social services director at Suffolk Council, has been appointed chief executive of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Douglas, who takes up the post from 1 September, has worked in social services...

asylum seekers; Lords want rethink on appeal time limit.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... The government suffered a setback in its reform of the asylum and immigration system this week when the Lords voted to increase the time for unsuccessful asylum seekers to appeal. The Lords voted 143 to 94 in favour of amending the Asylum...

readers' views; Plan to reward training wins vote.
June 10, 2004... Visitors to Community Care's website voted four to one in favour of financial rewards for social carers to retrain and multi-skill as part of a nationally recognised skills framework. This week's question asks: "Would you accept the new pay...

long-term care; Recruitment fears over matron scheme.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Plans to recruit 3,000 "community matrons" to look after people with multiple long-term conditions could be undermined by a lack of qualified nursing staff. Paul Corry, head of policy and campaigns at mental health charity Rethink,...

workplace; Upheaval at Ealing as Leadbetter quits.(Ealing social services )(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Mike Leadbetter has quit his job as interim director of Ealing social services - the fourth senior manager to leave the council in the past six months. Leadbetter, a former president of the Association of Directors of Social Services,...

voluntary sector; Scots to update charities law.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Measures to update and strengthen Scottish charity law were unveiled by the Scottish executive last week. The draft Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill proposes to create a new Scottish definition of charity, based on the...

children; Reforms may see Connexions' demise.
June 10, 2004... Connexions partnerships could be phased out under children's services reforms, a leading figure in the voluntary sector has warned. Kevin Williams, chief executive of YMCA England, said the government appeared to want to make children's...

mental health by Craig Kenny; US Seroxat challenge prompts fresh calls for review of drugs regulation.
June 10, 2004... The mental health charity Mind has repeated calls for a review of the relationship between pharmaceutical firms and drug regulators after a leading pharmaceutical firm was charged with fraud in the US. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) maker of the...

Alarm bells ring in the staffroom over drive to reduce exclusions.(Youth services)
June 10, 2004... Dealing with unruly behaviour at school rather than by exclusion is key to reducing students' risk of offending, says the government. But teachers complain that the policy is not supported. Amy Taylor reports The government is on a drive...

what more can be tried?(Gareth Green )(Panel Discussion)
June 10, 2004... A teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome has failed to respond positively to interventions. Our panel discusses what to do BYLINE: practice panel Children and families department, Liverpool social services CASE study Situation:...

charities; Scope attacked for focusing on care.(Cerebral palsy charity Scope )(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... Cerebral palsy charity Scope has been criticised for failing to support capacity building among disabled people. Lorraine Gradwell, chief executive of social enterprise Breakthrough UK, said the charity focused too much on raising money for...

bad year all round.(Jobcentre Plus)(Pensions Service)(Disability and Carers Service)
June 10, 2004... When the Benefits Agency was killed off, we were told that the Department for Work and Pensions would get it right this time round. Benefits delivery would be handled by three new bodies: Jobcentre Plus (for all working age claimants), the...

Brain to blame for kevin the teenager.
June 10, 2004... Arecent issue of news magazine Time has on its cover a map of a teenage brain and the statement: "Research is revolutionizing our view of the adolescent mind - and explaining its mystifying ways." Parents who have teenagers whose only...

health should pay too.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2004... How come social services are left to pick up the tab for the costly review of cases where children were taken into care on the basis of disputed medical evidence? The review, which involved trawling through hundreds of files and employing...

A DIFFERENT CLASS.(Great Yarmouth Education Action Zone)
June 10, 2004... Pupils in the Great Yarmouth area are reaping the rewards of schools that offer a wide range of support to them and their families, writes Graham Hopkins Melanie Webb* was at breaking point. Her five-year-old...