Author Archives: Maureen
Councils in England ‘pay too little for home care’
4 February 2014 Last updated at 08:01
The BBC received Freedom of Information data from more than 100 councils
Most councils in England are paying less than the industry recommended minimum for personal home care, a BBC investigation suggests.
The UK Homecare Association (UKHCA), which represents providers, want them to be paid a minimum of £15.19 an hour, to cover wages, training and travel.
But data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act found the minimum paid met that in just four out of 101 cases.
One provider said quality care was not possible at the levels being paid.
Cutting corners Trevor Brocklebank, chief executive of Home Instead Senior Care in Warrington, refuses to bid for council contracts.
Prince Charles: good food in hospitals should be a priority
Prince Charles said ‘food is a medicine in itself’ and called for greater emphasis on good quality hospital meals
By Alice Philipson
7:06AM GMT 31 Jan 2014
Prince Charles wants the NHS to see “food as a medicine in itself”, claiming better hospital meals would speed up recovery times.
He called for the quality of food served by the NHS to be made a “clinical priority” and said long-overdue changes could have benefits in other areas of health care such as malnutrition among the elderly.
It comes less than a month after the Telegraph disclosed that more than one in three hospital trusts have cut spending on patients’ meals in the past year.
Some hospitals are now spending as little as 69p on each meal, according to Department of Health figures, with meals at one trust described as “worse than prison”.
Peanut allergy clinics to open in Britain
British scientists are celebrating a major breakthrough in the treatment of potentially deadly peanut allergies
3:49PM GMT 30 Jan 2014
Children can be protected from the dangerous effects of peanut allergy by slowly building up their tolerance, research has shown.
After six months of the therapy, up to 90 per cent of allergic children taking part in a study could safely eat five peanuts a day.
Peanut allergy, which affects one in 50 children, can lead to anaphylactic shock – a potentially fatal immune reaction. It is the most common cause of deaths due to food allergies.
