Community Care articles from May 2002

Community Care archives from May 2002

Child protection must become business of health, inquiry told.(speech by Mike Leadbetter)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... special report: Victoria Climbi? Inquiry, Phase two Health professionals do not see child protection as their business and regard their role as helping social services to sort it out, the final inquiry seminar heard last week. Mike...

readers' views; Readers reject 'bed blocking' fines.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... The government's plan to fine local authorities for hospital "bed-blocking" has been rejected by 83 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website. This week's question asks: Would the threat of removing child benefit reduce youth crime...

Legacy of abuse.(children and sex)
May 2, 2002... Caring for young children who behave sexually towards other children and adults is among the toughest tasks faced by both foster carers and other professionals. Ruth Winchester reports Many adults find it uncomfortable to talk to...

Care standards must be flexible.(Brief Article)(Column)
May 2, 2002... viewpoint Turning Point chief executive Victor Adebowale pinpoints weaknesses in the new care standards The new care standards have been welcomed by many within the voluntary and social care sectors who have long campaigned for independent...

Keep It simple.(writing about social care)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... the write stuff Size matters when it comes to choosing the right word. Graham Hopkins sings the praises of the commonplace Sounds daft, but it's true: it's very difficult to write simply. Social care writing is full of big words and it's...

breaking chains.(child welfare)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... A local authority secure unit was badly under-performing, too prison-like and with poor education facilities. Graham Hopkins reports on the changes brought about by a new manager's arrival "I enjoy managing change," says Francis N'Jie,...

barred from learning?
May 2, 2002... There is a striking discrepancy in the amounts of money spent on education for children held in secure units and those in juvenile units at young offenders' institutions. Anabel Unity Sale asks why Colin was 15 when he was sentenced to...

Learning difficulties; Tax credit extended to disabled children.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Learning difficulties charity Mencap has welcomed the extension of the eligibility of the child care tax credit to parents of disabled children, which will entitle them to help with the cost of child care at home. The extension, announced...

Making amends.(race relations)
May 2, 2002... The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a stat utory duty on councils to eliminate discrimination, but not all of them are ready. Natalie Valios reports, while three care sector professionals offer views on whether the act will help...

mental health; Coroner criticises loopholes in law.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... The government has been attacked over loopholes in the Mental Health Act 1983 that allowed a mentally ill man to walk out of a hospital to his death. Isle of Wight coroner John Matthews said he believed that six fatal incidents involving...

Things have got better.(occupational therapy)(Brief Article)(Column)
May 2, 2002... this life A local occupational therapy service has enabled Rosemary Rowles to maintain a busy, rewarding life The occupational therapy department in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has two aims of great interest to me: to...

Poverty; Government consults on measuring tools.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Proposals to change the measure of child poverty have been announced by the government after it failed to fulfil its pledge to reduce the figure by a million in its first term (see news analysis, page 20, 25 April). Children are considered...

Nurses call for new classification system for children in need or at risk.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... special report: Royal College of Nursing annual congress Children are dying because of the system for classifying them as either "at risk" or "in need", a fringe meeting of the Royal College of Nursing Congress in Harrogate heard last week....

young offenders; Alternative to prison needed, says Woolf.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Insufficient resources mean young offenders are "left languishing in overcrowded secure accommodation", Lord Chief Justice Woolf said last week. Speaking at a conference on young offenders organised by children's welfare charity the...

Residential care; Patients may jump care home queue.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Penalising councils for delayed discharges could lead to individuals in hospital being offered care in the community in preference to those living at home, a director of care home firm Westminster Health Care said last week. Speaking at...

mental health by katie leason; High court rules in favour of people detained in psychiatric hospitals.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Thousands of mental health patients could be able to claim compensation following high court test case rulings that the government breached the human rights of people compulsorily detained in psychiatric hospitals. A judge found that...

standards; Care homes face registration delays.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 2, 2002... Care homes are experiencing delays in applications for registration and for criminal record checks on new employees. After just a month of operation the National Care Standards Commission has admitted it has a backlog of unprocessed...

adoption; Agencies must alter information sharing.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Adoption agencies should not apply a blanket approach to sharing information with adoptees if they want to avoid legal action, a leading children's law expert has warned. Barrister Ruth Henke told delegates at the BAAF Adoption & Fostering...

Older people; Free personal care campaign launched.(in Scotland)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... A campaign to highlight the introduction of free personal care has been launched by the Scottish executive this week. A freephone helpline has been set up to back the information campaign which will be led by newspaper advertising, a...

homelessness; Council ends unsuitable housing.(St Albans Council)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... A council that placed a homeless alcoholic with mental health needs in a lap dancing pub has vowed to stop using the temporary accommodation after the story made headlines in the local papers. St Albans Council's housing department, which...

asylum seekers by alex dobson; Dispersal plans for Wales close to ruin as councils seek reimbursement.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Plans for dispersing asylum seekers throughout out Wales are near to collapse, delegates at a meeting of the Welsh Local Government Association were told last week. Twenty-one councils were due to take part in a scheme designed to place...

performance by lauren Revans; 'Good' star-rated services need to reach minimum performance levels.(health care service ratings)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 2, 2002... Failure to meet minimum performance levels for 11 key performance indicators will automatically prevent councils from being judged as providing a good service under the new star-ratings system. Current performance will be assessed on cost...

Long-term care; Unison votes against nursing care divide.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Unison members voted unanimously for a motion opposing the "artificial distinction" between nursing and personal care at the public service union's annual health conference in Brighton this week. The motion expressed concern over the...

poverty is still the key.(child poverty still a serious political issue)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 2, 2002... According to a survey commissioned by the charity Save the Children, 60 per cent of people say that child poverty is a serious political issue. So, apparently, does the government, given Gordon Brown's pledge to end child poverty within a...

no benefit from cuts.(proposal to cut child benefits of parents of truants, offenders)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... A new package of measures and cash to tackle truancy was this week overshadowed by the government's cynical proposal to cut the child benefit of parents of persistent young offenders and truants. Just days after education secretary Estelle...

Injecting hope.(providing help to drug users)
May 2, 2002... How can supported housing providers help drug users change the ir lifestyles for the better and become drug-free? Sharon O'Hara of the English Churches Housing Group offers some pointers Over the past few years the English Churches...

learning difficulties by Lauren Revans; Care Standards Act threatens users' independence, claim charities.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... The care standards introduced last month could undermine the learning difficulties white paper Valuing People and reduce the flexibility of services, the sector has warned. Campaigners and service providers are concerned that the...

children by clare jerrom; Charities alarmed at threat to child benefit for parents of offenders.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Children's charities this week voiced concern over proposals floated by government to cut child benefit for parents of persistent young offenders and children who truant. A 10 Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that the idea, which...

regulation; Social care professionals look for the detail in Milburn's new commission.(Alan Milburn, National Care Standards Commission)
May 2, 2002... David Brown looks at the implications of separating the roles of inspection and policy development in the health secretary's proposal for a new regulation body Two weeks after plans for a Commission for Social Care Inspection were...

police appeal; Essex police search for missing man.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Essex Police have released an artist's impression of a man calling himself Michael Glanton who went missing from a residential home in Broomfield, Chelmsford, on 28 March. Glanton had been found wandering in Harwich the previous evening...

Partnership pressures.(health and social care partnerships are threatened due to the government's emphasis on acute health services)
May 2, 2002... The government's emphasis on acute health services is endan gering developing partnerships between health and social care, writes King's Fund fellow Penny Banks There will be no let up on the push from government to solve problems with...

all racism is equal.(Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the provision of social care)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 is a start, writes Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, but it will not solve the complex dilemmas that arise in the day-to-day provision of social care What busy bees race equality experts are these days, speaking...

threatening behaviour.(Norman Kay's experience with the Walker family)
May 2, 2002... A father has threatened his estranged wife an d social workers, and there are fears about the well-being of his children. Social worker Norman Kay (pictured left) tells Graham Hopki ns how he had to balance the children's right to see their...

we are all deserving, including the lazy.(getting those who choose to be unemployed back to work)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2002... Yvonne roberts argues for more tailor-made programmes aimed at getting the reluctant back to work One of the successes of the Labour government has been its encouragement of an academic appraisal of paths leading to social exclusion....

users pay price of failings at the top.(hearings examine responsibilities of social service executives)(Brief Article)(Column)
May 9, 2002... viewpoint Councillors and chief executives must take their share of the blame when things go wrong, says Wally Harbert At the Victoria Climbi? hearings, Haringey Council's former chief executive claimed that responsibility for social...

readers' views; Blair's child benefit suggestion opposed.
May 9, 2002... Prime minister Tony Blair's suggestion of removing child benefit would not help to reduce youth crime, 89 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website believe. This week's question asks: Have 10 years of community care helped older...

nothing ; personal.(overview of long-term care policies of the United Kingdom)(Column)
May 9, 2002... Free personal care would only account for a small part of the necessary level of funding to bring long-term care services in the UK up to scratch. A point that the government has so far missed, say Richard Brooks, Sue...

further afield.(social services in Cumbria, England)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Establishing and meeting the support needs of people in sparsely populated areas requires an innovative approach. Here, project co-ordinator Antoinette Ward describes a Cumbria project at the cutting edge of service provision Amajor...

HOME TRUTHS.(Rebecca Calcraft, parenting and leaving children at home)
May 9, 2002... Leaving children unattended at home is a dilemma for social care professionals as well as parents. At what age and in what circumstances is it safe and acceptable to leave a child alone at home? What are the most appropriate interventions and...

ADEGREE OF flexibility?(new three-year social work degree causes social service industry changes)
May 9, 2002... The new social work degree is expected to bring with it a sudden jump in the number of practice placement days for students. But with too few practice teachers and placements to go around, universities will have to look at other, more flexible,...

Don't dither on appeal.(benefit appeal strategy for social care staff)(Brief Article)(Column)
May 9, 2002... welfare rights To appeal against benefits decisions clients need to be quick off the mark, writes Gary Vaux Nothing ever seems to stand still within the benefit system. No sooner does working families tax credit replace family credit, it...

health under siege.(health care in Cuba)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 9, 2002... letter from cuba Nancy Dock visited Cuba last year and found an extensive health care system and programme of medical innovation under strain as a result of the economic blockade imposed by the US Health care under the Cuban...

older people; Sexuality must be respected in homes.(nursing homes, care for gays and lesbians)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Residential and nursing homes must do more to meet the needs of older lesbian and gay people, the first national conference on the subject heard last week. Fran Springfield, assistant director and head of care at Hill Homes housing...

time to commit.(evaluation of area child protection committees)
May 9, 2002... In the first of a series focusing on child protection in the light of the Victoria Climbi? Inquiry, Ruth Winchester looks at factors that limit the effectiveness of area child protection committees. And on page 30, Greenwich social...

Executive to refocus on recruitment problems.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Scotland's minister for education and young people Cathy Jamieson acknowledged that the Scottish executive had been slow to address the country's acute social work recruitment problems. Jamieson said the executive was now eager to improve...

Commission unable to alter standards.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... The new Commission for the Regulation of Care in Scotland last week detailed problems with care standards set by the executive. David Wiseman, the commission's director of operations, told directors: "The care standards are not owned by us...

Directors worry over inspectorate.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... There is growing concern over the performance of Scotland's Social Work Services Inspectorate and the "conceptual fuzziness" around its responsibilities, president of the Association of Directors of Social Work Jim Dickie told the conference....

Soundbites.
May 9, 2002... l "Blaming social workers for the problems in society is like blaming flood control operators for global warming." Rt Reverend Richard Holloway "Even the Tories recognised the difficulties! There is nothing that gladdens the heart...

Adoption body criticises register.(Barbara Hudson disputes possible adoption register policy)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Plans for a UK-wide adoption register could make it even more difficult to find families for hard to place children, a conference workshop heard. Barbara Hudson, director of the Scottish Adoption Association, said if families could adopt...

England sets bad example on crime.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Scotland must avoid the simplistic approach to tackling youth crime currently being adopted by the English government, the conference heard. Irene McGugan MSP told a question time panel discussion that it was crucial to look at the...

Minister puts heat on Scottish councils to form health partnerships.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Local authorities have been told they must form partnerships with health boards in Scotland or the executive will intervene. Hugh Henry, depute minister for health and community care, told social work directors at the annual Association of...

workforce; Lawyers warn over 'World Cup sickness'.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Employers could be breaking the law if they change their sickness procedures to prevent employees taking time off work to watch the World Cup, lawyers have warned. Law firm Trowers & Hamlins said employees' sickness entitlements were...

joint working; Care trusts only one option, says Milburn.(for social services in UK)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Alan Milburn has insisted that care trusts are just one possible route for closer working between health and social services. Representatives of primary care trusts detected a shift in emphasis in the government's policy on care trusts...

no need for revolution.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... A powerful coalition involving all the main agencies involved in child protection has spelt out ideas for improving services, which should form the core recommendations of the inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbi?. It would be easy to...

child protection; Investigation puts inquiry on hold.(sexual abuse case in Clywch, Wales)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... The Clywch Inquiry into alleged sexual abuse of children at a south Wales school has been suspended indefinitely. Peter Clarke, the children's commissioner for Wales, suspended the inquiry last week after the police announced a new child...

ideals do not end crises.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Two of the landmark social care white papers of the last decade - Caring for People, published in 1990, and Modernising Social Services, in 1998 - were in broad agreement on the principles that should underpin the care of older people. In the...

care homes ; Backlog ruling could trigger legal battles.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... A care home owner on the Isle of Wight has won a court case that will mean the council has to pay a backlog of six months' invoices. Richard Jones, chairperson of the Isle of Wight Registered Care Homes Association, who represented himself...

adoption; Door may open for unmarried couples.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Unmarried couples should be allowed to adopt children jointly, health secretary Alan Milburn told the House of Commons this week. Milburn said MPs would be given a free vote later this month on whether the Adoption and Children Bill should...

learning difficulties; Parents to launch support campaign.(learning disabled parents want access to their children)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Parents with learning difficulties who have had their children taken away from them are to launch a campaign this month to raise awareness of the issue and to call for support instead of intervention. The campaign, Fighting For Our...

Young offenders by clare jerrom; Police and Youth Justice Board gain extra funds to tackle youth crime.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 9, 2002... The Home Office is targeting the 10 police force areas worst affected by street crime with extra funds during the course of the year. Funding of ?67m has been made available for tackling street crime and a further ?194m will provide more...

older people by Katie leason; Chronic underfunding sets scene for rationing of older people's services.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Older people face increased rationing of key services as a result of chronic underfunding of community care over the past decade, claims a new study from charity Help the Aged. Changes in policy, such as the withdrawal of the NHS from...

Victoria Climbi? Inquiry by Lauren Revans and Janet Snell; Radical overhaul of child protection will not work, agencies tell Laming.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Wholesale reorganisation of the child protection system will not provide a solution to "child protection dilemmas", child welfare agencies and professional associations said this week. In a joint statement following the closing of phase two...

it's not about cash.(social workers need better press)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... More than improved salaries, social workers need a better press and a return to the type of practice that allows them to develop relationships and skills rather than police clients, writes Bob Holman "Degree threat as social work crisis...

waiting in the wings.(area child protection committees (ACPCs) waiting for larger role)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... David Behan explains the Association of Directors of Social Services' view that area child protection committees are ready to take on an enhanced role, tied in to national standards At their best, ACPCs are responsible for a great deal of...

Asylum seekers; Welsh councils quit dispersal scheme.(Home Office Asylum Dispersal Scheme)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Councils in Wales have carried out their threat to withdraw from the Home Office asylum dispersal scheme (News, page 11, 2 May). A consortium of 21 local authorities took the decision after the National Asylum Support Service failed to...

mental health; Government moves on in-patient care and dual diagnosis win praise.(Department of Health publishes guidlines for improving treatment)
May 9, 2002... The guidance looks good, say mental health charities, but making it work in practice will be a truer test of the government's resolve. Katie Leason reports Mental health service users have three good reasons to be smiling this week. A high...

a combustible mixture.(Helen Waddell, attitude about same-sex hospital wards)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... this life Mixed-sex wards are not conducive to a patient's recovery to full mental health, says Helen Waddell Through voluntary work for a mental health association and from information I have gleaned from the press, it seems that mixed-sex...

readers' views; Backing for older people policies.(social services)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... Eighty-five per cent of visitors to Community Care's website believe 10 years' of community care policies have helped older people. This week's question asks: is it right to send parents to prison if their children persistently truant? ...

brain wave.(head injury rehabilitation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 16, 2002... People with head injuries are learning new skills and confidence on a college course designed specially for them, says course leader Sheila Mulvenney About 20 people an hour are admitted to hospital with head injuries in the UK. Some...

getting it right.(social worker training)(Statistical Data Included)
May 16, 2002... A forthcoming Association of Directors of Social Services paper recommends that the government address recruitment, resources and training for children and families social workers. Here, the paper's author, Alison Painter, makes the ADSS's case...

budget blues.(social services)(Statistical Data Included)
May 16, 2002... The recent Budget appeared to show the government's determination to tackle underfunding in the NHS and social services. But on closer inspection one half of that commitment seems lacking - guess which half. ...

there's a better way.(youth crime)(Statistical Data Included)
May 16, 2002... The government's strategy for dealing with youth crime is centred on the use of custodial sentences. But, as Anabel Unity Sale discovers, many who work with young offenders are not convinced that the home secretary has studied the alternatives...

workforce; Recruitment drive enters second phase.(social workers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 16, 2002... The government has launched the second phase of its social worker awareness and recruitment campaign. The ?600,000 campaign aims to increase the number of applications for social work training by 5,000 within three years. Efforts will be...

older people by katie leason; Councillors call for better funded services to cut hospital admissions.(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... Measures to reduce hospital admissions and enable timely discharge from hospital will only be viable if local authority services are "adequately and robustly resourced," the Local Government Association has said. In its written evidence to...

health; Identity cards for ill children at school.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 16, 2002... Schoolchildren with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) are being issued with identity cards that allow them to leave lessons when they feel unwell. The Tymes Trustcard also allows pupils to wear dark glasses and extra clothes, to use a...

local government; Regions set for services restructure.(social services)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... Social services will not be included in the proposed regional assemblies, the government said last week. However, those areas that vote for the assemblies will see a radical shake-up of local government structure with the creation of...

workforce; Social worker is new Unison chief.(Heather Wakefield)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... A former social worker has been appointed as Unison's national secretary for local government. Heather Wakefield will replace Malcolm Wing after next month's national conference. "My aim is to put local government back on the public sector...

Young offenders; Front-line police can negotiate on orders.(consultation process over anti-social behavior orders need not include a senior police officer)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... The consultation process over anti-social behaviour orders does not have to include a senior police officer, the high court has ruled. Front-line officers can negotiate with council housing officers about the drawing up of the orders. ...

child protection; Schools should help prevent child abuse.(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... Schools could be given a statutory responsibility for dealing with cases of suspected child abuse. The proposals follow the death of six-year-old Lauren Wright who was killed after her head teacher and assistant teacher failed to report...

families; Call to end sperm donors' anonymity.(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... The Project Group on Assisted Reproduction is calling on the government to remove the anonymity given to sperm, egg and embryo donors. More than 2,000 people are born following sperm, egg and embryo donation every year, but under the Human...

children; Directors want revamp of services.(Association of Directors of Social Services wants a revamp of the commissioning of children's services)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... The Association of Directors of Social Services is calling for a rethink of the way children's services are commissioned. In a report due to be published at the end of the month, the ADSS will raise the possibility of developing a strategic...

asylum seekers; Welsh councils blame support service for collapse of dispersal contract.
May 16, 2002... Delays and lack of sensitivity have been cited by the Welsh consortium for the breakdown in negotiations with asylum support service. Anabel Unity Sale reports Welsh councils firmly put their collective foot down last week when all but one...

child protection; Singer's award sparks controversy.(children's commissioner for Wales asked to investigate the naming of 16-year-old singer Charlotte Church as "Rear of the Year")(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... The children's commissioner for Wales, Peter Clarke, has been asked to investigate the decision to name 16-year-old singer Charlotte Church as "Rear of the Year". The award has sparked controversy in Wales, and the Welsh assembly deputy...

young people; Connexions to reach disabled people.(Connexions support service to be extended to disabled people and people with learning difficulties)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2002... The government's new support service for young people, Connexions, will be extended to disabled people and people with learning difficulties up to the age of 25. Ivan Lewis, minister for young people and learning, announced the extension...