Community Care articles from October 2004

Community Care archives from October 2004

inclusion can exclude people.
October 7, 2004... Government policy aims at community inclusion, encouraging and enabling everyone to be part of the community. But what is meant by "the community"? Is it the world of work, the geographical area surrounding where we live, or perhaps a group of...

Government 'covers up' prison child abuse.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The government has covered up the abuse that goes on behind locked doors in young offender institutions across England and Wales, said the mother of a young person who committed suicide in a YOI. Yvonne Scholes, the mother of Joseph...

The Simon Heng Column A service user's view of social care.
October 7, 2004... Some of my disabled colleagues and I are getting involved in training social work students. It seems to be a good idea, to give future practitioners a different perspective from the ones they will get from their tutors, practice placements and...

If you ask me...(Chris Evans, a member of the Highland Users Group, a mental health collective advocacy group)(Brief Article)(Interview)
October 7, 2004... Chris Evans is a member of the Highland Users Group, a mental health collective advocacy group Who has had the biggest influence on you? Graham Morgan MBE, the advocacy manager who established and who facilitates the Highland Users...

independence under fire.(Approved Mental Health Professionals)
October 7, 2004... Approved social workers have traditionally stood up to doctors and fought for the rights of people with mental health problems. But the government's plans to replace ASWs with a wider range of approved mental health professionals may...

it's official: Listen to children!
October 7, 2004... Achieving the goals of the National Service Framework for Children will take a wholesale change in the way services are delivered. And professionals will now have to open their ears, reports Louise Tickle "Not in front of the children" is...

substance misuse; Staff shortages the main obstacle for drive to upgrade drug services.
October 7, 2004... Professionals have welcomed the new money allocated to help drug users in prison. But there are still gaps in the system that need to be addressed, reports Amy Taylor Re-badging old money as new is an old trick that the government is often...

child protection; Welsh assembly backs Clywch report.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The Welsh assembly has accepted the recommendations of the Clywch Inquiry into allegations of sex abuse against former drama teacher John Owen. The report supported claims that Owen had sexually abused pupils at Rhydfelen school in...

homelessness; Home Office queries council's housing use.(Manchester Council)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... M anchester Council has denied immigration minister Des Browne's claim that it is refusing to put people in housing earmarked for asylum seekers. A Home Office spokesperson said that because of a fall in the numbers of asylum seekers it...

disabilities; Tories want direct payments changes.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Rules on how direct payments can be used must be relaxed, according to shadow minister for the family Theresa May. She told a Commission for Social Care Inspection fringe meeting at the Conservative party conference in Bournemouth this week...

mental health; Target deadlines look optimistic.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The targets set out in the National Service Framework for Mental Health will not be met within the 10-year timeframe unless there is a major acceleration of the work, a mental health charity has warned. Mind has compiled a progress report...

joint working; Gaps in care cost billions each year.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Gaps between health and social care services and the failure to support the full range of people's needs are costing society [pounds sterling]7.83bn a year, according to new research. A study, carried out by social care organisation Turning...

learning difficulties by paul stephenson; Bid to cut red tape casts shadow on children's entitlement to statements.
October 7, 2004... A government report on cutting bureaucracy in special educational needs has been attacked for undermining the entitlement of children with learning difficulties to receive the services they need. The report from the Cabinet Office's...

social care; Responses double for Ladyman vision.( Stephen Ladyman )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The extended consultation period for the government's vision for adult social care has doubled responses, and increased the service user involvement, according to the Social Care Institute for Excellence. The consultation was extended to...

people; Tributes pour in for lawyer Allan Levy.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Children's charities have paid tribute to Allan Levy QC, the leading child law and human rights specialist, who died last week from cancer aged 62. Mary Marsh, chief executive of the NSPCC, described Levy as "dedicated, determined and...

exclusive by amy taylor and derren hayes; Lack of matches sees Norwood lose control of adoption register.(British Association for Adoption & Fostering)(Norwood)
October 7, 2004... Baaf Adoption and Fostering looks set to take over the running of the adoption register from charity Norwood. After three controversial years, the government and the Welsh assembly has decided that a new approach to running the register was...

asylum seekers; 'Slow' response to resettlement plan.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... A scheme to resettle up to 500 refugees a year in the UK has helped only 69 people since the government agreed to take part in 2003, it has been revealed. A Home Office spokesperson refused to confirm reports that only a few councils had...

blocking the gateway.(refugee resettlement plans are being blocked by Home Office)
October 7, 2004... In asylum matters the Home Office is the usual villain of the piece as it seeks to exclude as many applicants as possible from this country. So it was a rare coup this week for home secretary David Blunkett to be able to place himself on the...

readers' views; 'Name and shame' regulation breakers.
October 7, 2004... Three-quarters of visitors to Community Care's website thought that retailers that flout accessibility regulations for disabled people should be named and shamed. This week we ask: "Will the transfer of the adoption register to a new...

training; Post-qualifying framework issued.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The two-year updating of social work post-qualifying training is nearly completed with the publication of the proposed framework. If adopted - the proposals are to be consulted on for six weeks - the new post-qualifying framework will be...

set up to succeed.
October 7, 2004... Recruiting a new team for an entirely new service, in this case for early intervention, is a tough task. But, as Alexa Sidwell tells Graham Hopkins, a free rein and lateral thinking can help It might surprise some to learn that there are...

my practice.(Child psychiatrist Panos Vostanis asks what we really know about the impact of trauma on refugee and asylum-seeking children)
October 7, 2004... Child psychiatrist Panos Vostanis asks what we really know about the impact of trauma on refugee and asylum-seeking children Many refugee and asylum-seeking children have suffered direct trauma, as well as the impact of trauma on their...

mental health; Patients miss out on GPcare, says study.(General Practitioner)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Most people with common psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression are not receiving appropriate treatment from their GPs, a study says. Research in this month's British Journal of Psychiatry finds that 147 out of 336 people who...

bed blocking; Inquiry clears social services over deaths.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... An inquiry into the deaths of three older people in Bournemouth has concluded that they were not prematurely discharged from hospital. The review by Bournemouth social services also concluded that there was no poor care practice in its...

Hodge warns on how parental splits can damage the mental health of children.(Margaret Hodge)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Children who experience the divorce or separation of their parents are just as likely as children in care to have mental health problems, said Margaret Hodge. At a fringe event organised by children's charity NCH, the minister for children...

victoria climbie; Director 'intervened in Haringey inquiry'.(Haringey Council)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Anne Bristow, social services director at Haringey Council, excluded senior managers from an internal investigation into the performance of staff in the Victoria Climbie case, an employment tribunal was told. Aeres Howells, Haringey...

disabilities; Think-tank wants benefits for families.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Social services provision for disabled children should be scrapped and replaced by allowances paid directly to their families, says a centre right think-tank. A report from the Centre for Policy Studies criticises social services support...

mental health; Thousands illegally kept in hospitals.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Up to 50,000 people could be being kept in hospitals and nursing homes illegally after a ruling that a man's detention in hospital was in breach of his human rights. The European Court of Human Rights found that a man with autism who is...

long-term care by Craig Kenny; Scottish annual budget for freepersonal care spent in nine months.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The cost of free personal and nursing care for older people in Scotland looks set to be a third over budget in its first year, figures show. The [pounds sterling]126m annual budget was spent in the first nine months of the scheme,...

looked-after children by Sally Gillen; Child placement upheaval as councils override care plans to bolster ratings.
October 7, 2004... Children placed in residential homes outside of their own local authority are being returned because councils are worried about having their star ratings downgraded. Care plans for children, some of whom have been in many placements, are...

rebuild the wall around childhood.
October 7, 2004... Several centuries ago, there was little division between childhood and adult life. Even in Victorian times, the very young among the lower classes were described as "rioting sexually" and drinking excessively. Relative affluence, however,...

jewel in the crown.
October 7, 2004... this life Community psychiatric nurses are assets in a mixed bag of mental health support, Daniel Levy has found The year 1983 was a watershed in my life. Holding a good law degree from Oxford University I joined a large City solicitors'...

what can kent do?
October 7, 2004... Without the freedom to clear out any dead wood, the Kent management team that is being sent to sort out Swindon's failing social services department faces a major challenge, argues Robert Whelan I first began to think there was something...

vision ; validated.
October 7, 2004... Adult care professionals are supportive of Stephen Ladyman's vision for how to move forward, write Gerald Wistow and Richard Wistow. So, with this level of consensus what could possibly go wrong? gerald wistow is a part-time research...

Targets hit the mark.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Health minister Rosie Winterton insisted that mental health had been one of Labour's top three priorities. At an event organised by charity Rethink, Winterton said she hoped the targets had been "more help than hindrance". Winterton said...

duty calls.
October 7, 2004... Good organisation and well-trained duty team staff are crucial to acting on referrals. But recent research has found a variety of practices and overstretched staff, write Claire Cameron and June Statham Claire Cameron is a researcher...

'Tell us about direct payments barriers'.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Stephen Ladyman reiterated his commitment to increasing the take-up of direct payments this week by urging people to voice their concerns about barriers to take-up. Speaking at a Commission for Social Care Inspection fringe event, the...

Scottish council acts to bolster workforce.(Midlothian Council)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Midlothian Council is aiming to improve the recruitment and retention of its social work staff by offering one-off lump sum payments of [pounds sterling]2,400. These will be directed primarily to new and existing social workers in practice...

Post-qualifying courses gain a facelift to boost front-line skills.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The General Social Care Council is looking to modernise social workers' post-qualifying education and training. The new post-qualifying framework will be made up of three awards which will build up social workers' qualifications throughout...

the goal is stability.(Baaf Adoption and Fostering )(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... There is no doubt that the adoption register could achieve more. But before Baaf Adoption and Fostering takes it over, it is worth re-examining what, realistically, we should ask of it. The register is burdened with expectations born of the...

An advocate for; children.
October 7, 2004... The first court case that brought Allan Levy, who has died at the age of 62, to public prominence was one that he lost. In 1987, he acted for the official solicitor in representing a 17-year-old young woman with Down's syndrome. The judges...

failure; is not an option.
October 7, 2004... Swindon's social services director is so confident that his zero-rated department will gain two stars as a result of its deal with Kent that the contract makes no provision for failure. Anabel Unity Sale reports On Keith Skirman's desk is...

Conservatives would reform Sure Start.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... A future Conservative government would make Sure Start work more smoothly with other children's services, said shadow secretary of state for the family Theresa May. "We are not going to throw Sure Start away but we will need to look at how...

The Simon Heng Column A service user's view of social care.
October 14, 2004... When I became disabled, I was clear about my attitude towards the accessibility of buildings and services. If a shop or a commercial service was inaccessible to me, then I assumed that the organisation didn't want my money, so I'd take my...

Primary concerns.(changes in health care management)
October 14, 2004... GPs received a new contract in April this year after many months of wrangling, and the consequences look likely to take years to pan out. The contract allows GPs to hand over responsibility for out-of-hours primary care to primary care...

Appropriate action.(role of appropriate adults during questioning of juveniles and vulnerable adults in police custody)
October 14, 2004... All juveniles and vulnerable adults must now be accompanied by an appropriate adult if they are questioned in police custody. Lis Pritchard looks at how a network of volunteers is benefiting both detainee and police The importance of the...

Trust in row over cuts to services.(Berkshire Healthcare Trust )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Berkshire Healthcare Trust has rejected allegations it is damaging the care of people with mental health problems. The trust has an [pounds sterling]11.9m deficit from the last financial year and has cut and reorganised services to try to...

Pioneers who can challenge taboo.
October 14, 2004... The stigma of mental health must be confronted - and service users are well placed to do it, says Pauline Bispham The best campaigners against discrimination in mental health are those who have had problems themselves. Service users' voices...

Pensions feedback sought.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Plans to modernise the local government pensions scheme to encourage people to work longer have been put out to consultation. People who retire early can expect to take a cut in pensions, while those who retire later will receive a greater...

Public services chiefs dogged by resolving conflicts in workplace.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The public services sector spends three times as many days dealing with workplace grievances and disciplinary matters than the voluntary and not-for-profit sector, writes David Craik. A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and...

End charities' 'Las Vegas' cash tenders.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The bidding culture that blights the voluntary sector would be a thing of the past should the Conservatives come to power. David Willetts, shadow secretary for work and pensions and welfare reform, said the number of different grants...

Local government; Councils in Scotland lament lack of funds.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Scottish executive spending plans will leave local authorities short, Scottish councils have warned. Under the plans, local government spending in Scotland will rise from [pounds sterling]8,123m in 2003-4 to [pounds sterling]8,918m in...

'Framework may fail to meet objectives'.(National Service Framework)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The recently launched National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services is unlikely to meet its objectives without extra resources, according to a survey by Community Care. Around three-quarters of the front-line...

Government hands GPs budget control.(General practitioners)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Plans to allow GP practices to manage their own commissioning budgets are to be rolled out across the NHS, health minister John Hutton said last week. From April, practices will be able to receive "indicative budgets" from their primary...

Mental health; will new Mental Capacity Bill stop further breaches of human rights?
October 14, 2004... In 1997 the detention of an autistic man in a psychiatric hospital breached his human rights. But are there safeguards in the new Mental Capacity Bill to prevent it happening again? Sally Gillen reports When the European Court of Human...

Employment tribunal by Amy Taylor and Sally Gillen; Arthurworrey says she is 'scapegoat' as job tribunal dismisses her appeal.(Lisa Arthurworrey)
October 14, 2004... Lisa Arthurworrey insisted this week that justice had not been done after she lost her claim for unfair dismissal against Haringey Council. The employment tribunal also rejected the claim of Victoria Climbie's social worker that the local...

If you ask me...(Brief Article)(Interview)
October 14, 2004... Carol S Jenkin is founder and co-ordinator of black mental health support group Buddies Who has had the biggest influence on you? My social work tutor on the pre-diploma course in 1992. Which health or social care professional has...

local government; More agreements get local go-ahead.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The government is to more than double the number of councils to trial local area agreements. When announced initially by local government minister Nick Raynsford in July, LAAs were to be piloted in just nine areas. But due to the high...

Youth justice; MPs seek 'value for money' custody.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The Youth Justice Board was urged by MPs this week to commission research into the cost-effectiveness of the three types of establishment for young offenders in custody. In a report, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has...

Child protection; Review ordered of two baby deaths.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Two cases are to be reviewed in the light of the Cannings judgment but more may follow, according to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The review was launched earlier this year following the acquittal of Angela Cannings in December...

Primary care tsar wants trusts to share NHS cash with social services.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... One of the government's most influential health advisers has said primary care trusts will need to hand over NHS money to social services departments to help tackle wider public health issues. Dr David Colin-Thome, national clinical...

Fears over 'right to die' debate and bill.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Campaigners are concerned that progress on the Mental Capacity Bill may be stalled because MPs could be distracted by "misplaced fears" about euthanasia. A commons debate this week on the bill, which is designed to give greater protection...

Applicant driven to distraction.(social worker registration)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... "Your sins will find you out" is a phrase increasingly likely to strike a chord with social workers registering with the General Social Care Council if one worker's experience is anything to go by. The man, who has 21 years' experience as...

Hodge targets role of commissioner.(Margaret Hodge)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... The proposed function of the children's commissioner for England to promote and safeguard the rights of children could be removed. Children's minister Margaret Hodge will try to water down the role to promoting awareness of the views of...

Swansea votes to strike over pay.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Social workers in Swansea have voted for industrial action over pay rates. Of the 87 social workers and social work practitioners who returned ballot papers, four in five voted to strike. Public sector union Unison said pay scales in...

Buying into social care.(transfer of funds to social care)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... It is refreshing to hear a leading clinician talk of "stacks of money" in the health service, in direct contrast to severe shortfalls in social services. The government's primary care tsar, David Colin-Thome, did not stop there. He has...

Exhibition review.(Bath Self Help Housing Association exhibition)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... THE PEOPLE'S SHOW Victoria Art Gallery, Bath Until 7 November, free This exhibition is the outcome of a project run by Bath Self Help Housing Association's Bath Foyer and Pathways schemes - both young people's projects offering...

youth justice; High Court upholds naming and shaming.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Young offender charities have criticised last week's High Court decision to uphold the public naming and shaming of three teenagers on antisocial behaviour orders. Personal details and photographs of the boys aged 15, 16, and 18 were...

Scottish hearings need parents' input.(children's hearing system in Scotland)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... More mediation and support services for parents should be at the core of developing the children's hearing system in Scotland. Many of the 1,500 respondents to the first phase of the review of the system, which investigates youth offending...

Ladyman backing for clients on fees.(Stephen Ladyman)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Councils will be unable to refuse care home places to clients because they cannot afford to pay the fees under measures to be unveiled by the government. Guidance from community care minister Stephen Ladyman will place a duty on councils...

Supporting People; Uproar over Scots' funding allocation.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Councils have accused former Scottish executive communities minister Margaret Curran of using "underhand tactics" and "jumping the gun" when she announced individual councils' allocations of Supporting People funds this month. Already...

research.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 14, 2004... ACCESS TO SERVICES WITH INTERPRETERS: USER VIEWS C Alexander et al, Joseph Rowntree Foundation ISBN 1859352286, [pounds sterling]14.95 Anti-discriminatory practice insists that people should be enabled to speak with their own voice...

Legal.(Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution))(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... Makbool Javaid (right) on disciplinary and grievance procedures that came into force this month On 1 October 2004, the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) came into force obliging employers and employees to follow both a statutory...

Directors alarmed at need for staff scrutiny of entertainment licences.
October 14, 2004... Thousands of licensing applications for public venues such as pubs and restaurants will have to be looked at by social services staff from next February, directors have warned. Guidance with the Licensing Act 2003 requires an area child...

'Ivory tower' Social Care Institute to be revamped and given more power.(Social Care Institute for Excellence)
October 14, 2004... Ministers have signalled their intention to overhaul the Social Care Institute for Excellence by proposing to hand it responsibility for key Department of Health agencies. The proposal - agreed in principle by Scie pending assurances from...

Is elder abuse the issue?(rehabilitation of elderly)(Panel Discussion)
October 14, 2004... Why does a 77-year-old woman appear agitated when visited in hospital by her son and daughter? Our panel advises panel responses mick ryan This case falls within the remit of adult protection. Shirley is a vulnerable adult and a...

I thank you my carers.(a schizophrenic's personal narrative)
October 14, 2004... At 66 I am a lucky lad. All my chores are taken care of by a team of gentlemen who call every day. My bed is made and the bottle changed, sandwiches and coffee are provided, the whole flat is cleaned from top to bottom and all my shopping done...

Just hangin'.(laws against teenagers loitering on streets)
October 14, 2004... Is merely standing in the street really an offence? What's the difference between teenagers hanging around a street corner in 2004 and in 1994? Apart from the make of their trainers changing over the decade, you would think not a lot. But...

Government moves to targeted approach for adoption register.(Baaf Adoption and Fostering)
October 14, 2004... The agency that takes over the slimmed-downnational adoption register will have to focus on hard-to-place children. Craig Kenny reports Local authorities will be asked only to refer selected children to the national adoption register,...

Time on our side.(city councils' human resource management)
October 14, 2004... Dundee Council has pioneered flexible working in an effort to improve staff retention. Geof Cox looks at the results Many councils now offer golden hellos and enhanced terms to encourage staff to work for them. Dundee Council has chosen a...

A very public divorce.(political parties struggle with social care policy)
October 14, 2004... The main parties' misleading use of words such as choice, citizenship and diversity divorces them from the electorate and marginalises the distinct work of social care among real people, writes Peter Beresford One unexpected outcome of the...

Behave yourselves.(Newham's antisocial behaviour team)
October 14, 2004... Anabel Unity Sale joined Newham's antisocial behaviour team for a day to gauge the kind of situations it has to deal with, and, below, offers an appraisal of the government's flagship policy to deal with minor "offences" The photographs of...

criminal neglect.(crimes against vulnerable adults )
October 14, 2004... Six years after the Longcare Inquiry recommended a new offence of causing harm to vulnerable adults, no legislation exists. Yet it should be easy to amend the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill to this effect, says Joanna Perry ...

voluntary sector; Charities back new standard contracts.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2004... V oluntary organisations have backed the Association of Directors of Social Services' proposals for simplifying the way councils procure services, it emerged this week. Learning difficulties charity Mencap, social care charity Turning...