Community Care articles from September 2004

Community Care archives from September 2004

The Simon Heng Column A service user's view of social care.
September 2, 2004... For five years, I lived in a hostel for disabled people. Some of us had acquired our disability - as I had - and others had a congenital condition. From time to time, I wondered whether acquiring a disability in later life made a difference to...

is there no escape from alcatraz?(Correctional institutions)
September 2, 2004... "No patient has ever absconded from the type of hospital we are proposing." This statement is not about a privately run US correctional facility, but comes from an outline proposal to open a private hospital for 54 children aged 13 to 19. They...

Welcome to hell's office.(employee safety)
September 2, 2004... Bullying ruins lives and employers who ignore it risk damaging their reputation and their finances, says Imogen Haslam Gordon Ramsey's bullying style of management may have made good television in Hell's Kitchen, but it comes with a heavy...

If you ask me...(Gary Bourlet)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Gary Bourlet has a learning difficulty and is the director of Swindon People First Who has had the biggest influence on you? My former lecturer John Hersov. He introduced me to self-advocacy in 1982. Which health or social care...

all about ; my brother.(taking care of the siblings of disabled children)
September 2, 2004... The siblings of disabled children often need help with overcoming a sense of isolation or feelings of resentment. One answer lies in support groups where they can socialise with other children who lead similar lives, say Angie Naylor and Phil...

will the gates open?(identity cards as anti-terrorism measure)
September 2, 2004... Identitycards are back on the government's agenda, sparking fresh fears among some over the consequences of their introduction for vulnerable people. Rachel Foggitt reports They say it will help in the war against terror. But it will...

drink in; the dock.(youth and drug abuse)
September 2, 2004... The link between alcohol abuse and youth offending is only just receiving the scrutiny it deserves, reports Anabel Unity Sale There were vigorous nods of agreement among professionals working in youth justice last October when Anne Owers,...

Council staff bound by code.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Council employees are to be bound by a statutory code of conduct, under government proposals launched last month. Council staff will be under a duty to behave professionally and treat others with respect. The proposed code also covers...

Joint skills course is launched.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... A pilot course for managers who work in integrated environments is starting up this month, writes Roisin Woolnough. The project, sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills, looks at leadership, learning, good practice and the...

we'll meet again.(meeting old friends at the restaurant)
September 2, 2004... Regular readers may remember me writing about the closure of the restaurant at a department store, which I and a group of other service users used to frequent (Community Care, 22 May, 2003). My favourite lunch was a mug of coffee, plus a couple...

blame the market.(british strict on imposing laws for controlling anti-social behavior)
September 2, 2004... Britain is more police state than the benign nanny state of popular myth, with the list of frowned-upon or banned activities lengthening by the day. Anyone buying a pack of cigarettes pays the government a hefty, on-the-spot fine (also known as...

Link-Age unravels the red tape to ease access to services.
September 2, 2004... The numerous visits from different services that older people have to endure when they want help or benefits should be reduced to just one if a government blueprint goes to plan, reports Derren Hayes When pensions minister Malcolm Wicks...

Government urged to give ground to travellers and address sites shortage.
September 2, 2004... The rise in illegal gypsy and traveller sites can be traced to 1994 when the obligation on councils to provide them was lifted. Amy Taylor reports on moves to restore the duty The media has been filled with reports all summer of...

disability; Holiday let-down for disabled children.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The lack of summer holiday activities for disabled children is being exacerbated by the "pot-luck" provision of local authority-funded holiday schemes, says a Barnardo's report published this week. Author Neera Shahna said that long-term...

workplace; Bid to cut sick leave among York staff.
September 2, 2004... Adult social care staff in York are being asked to phone a nurse when they report sick in a pilot scheme designed to cut absence levels. Adult services was singled out for the three-month trial by York Council because staff take an average...

education; Teachers slam local government leaders.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... A teaching union has accused council leaders of "breathtaking arrogance" for looking to extend to schools the duty in the Children Bill covering co-operation on improving children's well-being. A coalition including the Local Government...

mental health; Scotland 'not ready' for extent of change.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The new Mental Health Act in Scotland could be undermined by poor preparation and over-stretched mental health officers, experts in the field have warned. The enhanced role of the mental health officer set out in the act is central to its...

workforce by derren hayes; Emergency duty teams cast doubts on shift to unqualified support staff.
September 2, 2004... The increased use of non-social work qualified support staff to field out-of-hours inquiries in social services departments is causing concern among emergency duty teams. In a study of 28 teams by the Thomas Coram Institute, the quality...

homelessness; Study finds link with gambling.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... New research has supported concerns raised by campaigners that the deregulation of gambling could see a rise in homelessness. A study comparing homelessness rates in four UK cities with those in Boston, the US, and Melbourne finds evidence...

children; Councils fail to meet data-sharing targets.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Almost a third of local authorities have failed to meet a set of government minimum requirements on information sharing, according to new research. All local authorities that are not one of the 10 Information Sharing and Assessment...

pot of gold loses gloss.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The axe has finally fallen and at last councils know how much - or how little - cash they are to receive under the Supporting People programme. And, after rumours that the [pounds sterling]1.8bn budget could be slashed by as much as 15 per...

child protection; Climbie doctors face investigation.(Victoria Climbie inquiry in the process)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The General Medical Council is investigating two of the doctors who examined Victoria Climbie in the months leading up to her death. A spokesperson from the GMC said that allegations against Dr Mary Schwartz, a consultant paediatrician at...

funding by shirley kumar; Shrinking Supporting People pot will not fund mental health services.
September 2, 2004... Services for people with high personal care needs must be met through local authorities' social services budgets not Supporting People funding, the government has warned. Announcing a real terms 7 per cent cut to the Supporting People...

children; Mixed news on cash for Children's Fund.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Children's charities are cautious about the future of Children's Fund projects despite budget cuts being less severe than feared. The Department for Education and Skills announced this week that the allocation for the fund over the next...

carers; New study finds a million young carers.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The number of young carers could be four times higher than official figures suggest, a charity has claimed. More than a million people aged up to 19 care for someone with a disability, illness or health problem in England, Wales and...

public order; Housing told to use behaviour contracts.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Housing associations last week were encouraged to use acceptable behaviour contracts when dealing with antisocial young people. A Housing Corporation spokesperson described the contracts as more inclusive and consultative than the harsher...

older people; Judge orders review of woman's care.(Wandsworth Council)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Wandsworth Council has agreed to review its care of a 95-year-old woman after the Court of Appeal slammed its decision-making process last week. Lord Justice Wall said he accepted it was Wandsworth's genuine opinion that Louisa Goldsmith's...

Durham trials support groups.(Durham Council)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Durham Council has set up a pilot support group for new starters in children in need, fostering and adoption roles to help them in their first few months and guide them through their post-qualification training together. Lorraine Anderson,...

youth justice by clare jerrom; Charities concerned with rising use of antisocial behaviour orders.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Fears have been raised this week over the Home Office's boast that the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders issued to tackle "yob behaviour" has more than doubled since March last year. Home Office figures show that more than 2,400 Asbos...

Exclusive by craig kenny; Lone asylum children denied full support as disputes over age rise.
September 2, 2004... Rising numbers of unaccompanied children seeking asylum are having their ages disputed by the Home Office, resulting in them being treated as adults, the Refugee Council has told Community Care. According to the charity's estimates, about...

lumbering red tapeis costing us dear.( immigration and asylum policies )
September 2, 2004... The Home Office says it is winning its battle to restore public confidence in its immigration and asylum policies - a confidence shaken, in the first place, largely by the propaganda spewed out by the right wing press. Asylum applications...

readers' views; Foster carers need basic allowance.
September 2, 2004... Seventy-one per cent of visitors to Community Care's website believed that foster carers should be paid a national minimum allowance. This week's question asks: Do generic emergency duty teams work? (See story page 12). To make your...

CASE study.(antisocial behavior)
September 2, 2004... Situation: Corinne Eckersley, 17, has spent years truanting, absconding and offending. The latter mainly involves shoplifting to pay for alcohol and drugs - for which she served minor community sentences. She has been living with her mother and...

Survey reveals high degree of CV honesty.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Community Care's voluntary sector social care salary index 2003 shows that while only 6 per cent admit to lying on their CV, many more admit to telling fibs about their hobbies and experience. Staff in the South East were the worst culprits...

they deserve better.
September 2, 2004... Social services are often failing disabled parents through confusion about their entitlements under community care legislation. Jenny Morris reports When Saadia Nielson, a disabled woman and mother of two, enquired about direct...

mental health; Drugs company to publish all research.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... A pharmaceutical company accused of suppressing negative studies of its antidepressant drugs has agreed to publish all information from its clinical trials. GlaxoSmithKline also agreed to pay $2.5m in a settlement with New York State...

across the barricades.(decentralisation in government agencies)
September 2, 2004... Local government professionals hold conflicting views on ring-fencing with loss of financial independence, the protection of vulnerable people and local leadership among their concerns. Joy Ogden reports When Bing Crosby recorded Don't...

fair play and foul.(economic policy)
September 2, 2004... The government intends to widen eligibility for child benefit and child tax credit, and one of the new groups that will be included is parents of children in non-waged training. No public outcry has demanded this move, but it is long overdue....

illusion of achievement.(curbing anti social behavior)
September 2, 2004... The news that record numbers of antisocial behaviour orders are being issued is hardly the huge achievement the Home Office is trumpeting. That the orders criminalise behaviour which formerly would have been deemed irritating,...

fertile ground.(Norton Priory Museum and Gardens's services for adults with learning difficulties )
September 2, 2004... A conservation partnership between a museum and a day service is changing the public landscape for people with learning difficulties. Gary Hayden reports Gardening and horticulture have long been recognised as therapeutic tools to enable...

plan fails to sort education debate.
September 9, 2004... The government may have been bold in setting out a five-year plan for education, but there are three major disappointments in the strategy. The first is that there is still a debate as to whether or not joined-up working is the best way...

medical role approved.(mental health professionals)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Mental health tsar Louis Appleby has told Community Care that the publication this week of the Mental Health Bill would end the role of approved social worker and replace it with approved mental health professional. Such professionals will come...

Opportunity knox.(Knox Walton,a social worker)
September 9, 2004... A push in Durham to open up more universal services has led to better joint workingrelationships and an awareness of how to avoid service duplication. Sarah Wellard reports In a large rural county such as Durham with many small and...

The Simon Heng Column A service user's view of social care.(Column)
September 9, 2004... Many areas are in the process of reviewing their adult daycare provision. It's always been a conundrum: once you have taken care of people's health and safety needs, what else? Some disabled people have the resources and luck to be able to...

If you ask me...(chairperson of the National Service Framework user carer group for Bury Council expresses her views)(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 9, 2004... Florence Lyons is chair of the National Service Framework user carer group for Bury Council Which health or social care professional has been most use to you? All the staff at the Bury and Rochdale walk-in health centre. If you ran...

Government lays down training needs for children's workforce.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... The Department for Education and Skills has set out the skills and knowledge required by the children's workforce in a second draft of its Common Core prospectus, writes Roisin Woolnough. Once those training needs are fully established,...

'Whinge report' lists managers' moans.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Managers want more praise and recognition for their work, according to the UK's first "whinge report". They also want less paperwork, fewer meetings and more flexible working options. Forty per cent of UK managers feel exploited in the...

What's in a name?(professional image as a motivating factor)
September 9, 2004... The social care profession needs to transform its image to reflect the highly valued work it delivers, says Addie Stevenson As a new Skoda car owner, I didn't get the jokes I was expecting, but I did lose count of the number of comments...

peer inside.
September 9, 2004... Prison inmates are taking on the role of advisers to help offenders with their housing needs as they prepare for release. Zoe Cacanas reports Chris has been a criminal for years. By his own admission, when he opened his mouth in the past...

will fathers have their day?(separating parents settling it out for child custody)
September 9, 2004... "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do." These opening lines to a Philip Larkin poem ring only too true during acrimonious custody battles between separating parents who use contact with their children as a way...

no choice at all.
September 9, 2004... To ask people not to give to homeless people begging on the street, as Westminster and Camden councils have done, is to mislead the public about the alternatives on offer, argues Sally Witcher Got a drugs problem? Had a nervous breakdown?...

don't give ; generously.(alms go for buying of drugs)
September 9, 2004... Two councils have started a campaign to discourage giving to beggars on the assumption that most recipients are not rough sleepers but drug users. However, those who deal with this group are sceptical about the policy, reports Katie Leason ...

child protection; Abuse deaths are missed, says study.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Hospitals across the UK have probably been failing to recognise child abuse deaths because there has been no national system for identifying them, according to research by the NSPCC. The research found child abuse was only recorded if there...

foster carers; Shortages mar lives of Welsh children.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... T he shortage of foster carers in Wales has increased by 7 per cent since 2002, causing one in five children in council care to be moved three or more times a year, research by the Fostering Network reveals. Councils are also being forced...

public order; Satellite tracking pilot 'premature'.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... The government's piloting of a satellite tracking system to track persistent offenders, including sex offenders and perpetrators of domestic violence, has been criticised by the National Association of Probation Officers as "premature". ...

Bed blocking; Guidance calls for nurses to discharge.(Department of Health empowers nurses to discharge patients)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Senior nurses are being given power to discharge patients from hospitals in a bid to cut waiting times. Department of Health guidance says nurses should discharge people who have continuing care needs that can be provided for in their own...

children; Dismay over use of insurance number.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... The government's likely decision to use the national insurance number as the unique identifier for children has been slammed as a "joke". Andrew Cozens, president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, criticised the idea,...

Children by craig kenny; Council must pay compensation for 'poor service' to girl left in squalor.
September 9, 2004... A girl of five was left amid "unspeakable filth and neglect" for two years because social workers assumed that her father's concerns were motivated by a custody battle, a watchdog has found. When police eventually broke down the door of...

Exclusive; Minister gets tough over registration.(British Community care minister Stephen Ladyman)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Community care minister Stephen Ladyman is said to be appalled with the low number of social workers who have so far signed up to the social care register. Ladyman was due to write to every local authority chief executive this week...

Joint working; Councils demand coherent guidance on information-sharing systems.
September 9, 2004... Local authorities blame confusing signals from central government for the delays in implementing information sharing and assessment systems designed to protect vulnerable children. Mark Hunter reports The news that almost one-third of local...

older people; Long-term care spend 'must soar'.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Spending on long-term care for older people will have to quadruple in real terms by the middle of the century to cope with the rising number of older people, according to a report. The study, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said the huge...

Arthurworrey condemns poor supervision and flaws that led to tragedy.(Lisa Arthurworrey)
September 9, 2004... Victoria Climbie's death was an accident waiting to happen, social worker Lisa Arthurworrey said this week as she broke her media silence to outline plans to clear her name. Lisa Arthurworrey was allocated Victoria's case in August 1999...

Vulnerable people by shirley kumar; Services under threat as impact of Supporting People cuts hits home.(vulnerable )
September 9, 2004... Charities and councils are warning that they cannot fund the shortfall caused by the cuts in the Supporting People budget. Mental health charity Rethink said the reduction, announced last week, threatened to undermine services and could...

Children by Paul stephenson; Tighter rules on experts proposed for investigations into infant deaths.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... There must be a compulsory national protocol for the investigation of sudden unexpected deaths in infants, and only accredited and trained expert witnesses should be used in court cases, a Royal Colleges working group has concluded. The...

Youth justice; Inquiry launched into strip searching.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... An independent inquiry into the use of strip searching, physical restraint and segregation for children in prisons was announced by the Howard League for Penal Reform this week. Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile, who will lead the inquiry,...

Should she be banned from working with children?(accomplice in child abuse case, Lisa Arthurworrey's reemployment debate)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Ron Aitken, Liberal Democrat social services spokesperson, Haringey: "It is worrying that someone has been put on a list intended for the Ian Huntleys of this world and is in effect condemned to unemployment while others went on to better paid...

Local authorities; Council chiefs vow to raise standards.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Local government leaders have pledged to ensure that no council is rated poor or weak by 2008. The Local Government Association's manifesto, published this week, also challenges the government and political parties to back devolution to...

Child protection; Abuse safeguards in schools agreed.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... New guidance on safeguarding children from abuse in education has been welcomed by teachers as addressing many of the gaps that had previously existed. The guidance on protection of children in England from the Department for Education and...

Mental health by lauren revans; Revised draft bill looks set to end the role of approved social worker.
September 9, 2004... Plans to replace approved social workers with approved mental health professionals from a variety of backgrounds were due to be confirmed this week. News that the revised draft mental health bill retains proposals to end the ASW role will...

Voluntary sector; Groups buoyed by health trust funds.(primary care trusts)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... The voluntary sector is turning to the health service for money, according to a survey. In 2003, primary care trusts provided core funding for about one-third of the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service's members in...

Child protection; Scotland moves to toughen penalties.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... People who groom a child for sexual purposes in Scotland could be imprisoned for up to 10 years, under legislation announced by the Scottish executive this week. The new offence will be part of the Protection of Children and Prevention of...

Readers' views; Opinion split over emergency teams.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Fifty-one per cent of readers believed that generic emergency duty teams were not effective, while 49 per cent thought they were. This week's question asks: Do you agree with former Haringey social worker Lisa Arthurworrey that she should...

Care homes; Wiltshire agrees to [pounds sterling]100k abuse payout.(Wiltshire Council)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Wiltshire Council has agreed to a payout, thought to be more than [pounds sterling]100,000, to a care home resident with Down's syndrome who was sexually and physically abused in one of its homes. The man, who lived at Rutland House in the...

My practice.(elderly care)
September 9, 2004... As a social worker in the well-being service (which also has a district nurse and health visitor) I work with older people who may not meet departmental criteria for support or who are considered to be a "low priority". Referrals for low level...

People; Social services boss to head new trust.(Northumberland Council)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... Former director of social services at South Tyneside Council Trevor Doughty is to be the children's services director at Northumberland Council. But, Andrew Cozens, president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, said that...

BRIDGET'S TAKING A LONG TIME: A JOURNEY THROUGH ADOPTION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A BIRTH CHILD ; Nicky Ball with Bridget Betts, Information Plus ; ISBN 0954461444, [pounds sterling]39.95.(Video Recording Review)(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... This interactive story for children aged five to 12 is aimed at birth children of parents who are going through the adoption process, writes Michelle Langley. Included on the disc is a video of young people who belong to adoptive families,...

Adoption; 'Ethnic minorities put off adopting'.(Brief Article)
September 9, 2004... The debate on parents' right to smack their children is among factors preventing people from some religious and cultural minorities from adopting, a report commissioned by children's charity NCH has claimed. Social workers at Nottingham,...

mental health by craig kenny; Mind casts doubts on government claims of ending mixed-sex wards.
September 9, 2004... Almost one in four mental health in-patients are sleeping on mixed-sex wards, despite government claims to have almost eradicated the practice, according to mental health charity Mind. In a survey of 416 current or recent psychiatric...

Next steps.(Vanessa,a social worker speaks up about her field)
September 9, 2004... Thinking of moving on? Need a new challenge? Then read on Vanessa is a social worker with one year's experience looking for her next move within the profession What is your job? I am a mental health worker with young people working...

'But' is no excuse for not getting it right.
September 9, 2004... Lisa Arthurworrey, the social worker involved in the case of Victoria Climbie, admitted on Radio Four's Today programme that she made mistakes. Arthurworrey said that the case had caused her to have a nervous breakdown. She is now...

'doing it for ourselves'.(mental health service user networks)
September 9, 2004... In 1988 I had a major breakdown and found myself in hospital. Not long after that I took early retirement from teaching at the ripe old age of 45. As part of my rehabilitation, I went to a mental health centre in Merton, south London. Being a...

Express yourself.(child abuse cases)
September 9, 2004... Since the 1970s virtually all reviews of fatal child abuse cases in the United Kingdom report that there was evidence of communication failures between professionals.1 Forthcoming government changes hinge on three initiatives designed to...

time to ; buck ; the system.(managing social care systems)
September 9, 2004... The concept of the whole system has become one of the key elements of planning in health and social care. From initiatives such as healthy communities to problems such as delayed discharges, the idea that the whole system needs to be addressed...

TELLING IT OURSELVES - AN ORAL HISTORY.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 9, 2004... The Black Friendly Group, Joseph Rowntree Foundation [pounds sterling]15 (plus [pounds sterling]2 p&p) This video is a quite delightful and excellent piece of advocacy, writes Abiola Ogunsola. Reading the booklet which accompanies...