Category Archives: Featured Article

Benefits assessment led to woman’s suicide says watchdog

April 2, 2015   benefits, Carers, Featured Article, mental health
By Eleanor Bradford BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

The way a woman was assessed for benefits led to her suicide less than a month later, according to a mental health watchdog.

The Mental Welfare Commission looked at the case of a woman who killed herself after an Atos assessment

The woman had a history of depression and was on significant medication, but scored zero points in a Work Capability Assessment (WCA), carried out by Atos.

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The new Care Act means we can all apply for support as we get old

April 1, 2015   Carers, Featured Article, Social care

The act’s cap on personal liability for long-term care means state support in old age will be opened up to everyone, not just those who are poor

 
The Act is a watershed in the slow transition of social care into a service that thinks first and foremost about keeping people independent. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian

Finally we’ve arrived. Seven years after the Law Commission embarked upon a review of what its then chairman called a “hodgepodge” of almost 40 statutes governing the care and support of older and disabled people in England, dating back as far as 1948, the Care Act is taking effect.

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We need to encourage collaboration in health and social care

March 31, 2015   Carers, DOH, Featured Article, health, Social care

 Commissioners of services delivered by voluntary and community groups in these sectors must better support them to meet the needs of vulnerable people

Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations are best equipped to deal with some of the most intractable and high-cost health and social care issues, such as homelessness.
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