Elderly rehab services ‘lacking’
By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News
Intermediate care involves mutli-skilled teams of physiotherapists, nurses and social-care staffThere is a lack of support and rehabilitation for elderly patients who need help recovering from falls and hospital care, a report suggests.
Such help is normally provided by joint teams of nurses, physiotherapists and social-care staff in England.
But the British Geriatrics Society audit estimated the services in place were meeting only half the demand.
The report warned the shortage was likely to cause delays in discharge from hospital and readmissions.
Carers to receive advice in spotting house fire risks
Carers are to be given new advice on spotting those at risk of house fires, including smokers and those with mental health issues.
One person receiving care is dying from a fire every month in London on average, according to a London Fire Brigade (LFB) report.
It said in the last three years, 36 out of 119 accidental fire deaths involved people accessing some form of care.
The advice will form part of care workers’ inductions.
This includes those who care for people in their own homes, in sheltered accommodation and in care homes.
Norman Lamb, King’s Fund – Integration
Transforming Local Services
A reshuffle is a strange thing.
I’ve followed the health reforms pretty closely so I’m relatively up to speed.
But often, new ministers find themselves in departments where they know only the bare bones of the policy. And they’re expected to turn themselves into experts overnight.
I’ve been an MP long enough to hear my fair share of new ministers read out speeches in the Commons and clearly have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. The crueller members of the opposition can sometimes make it a bit of a trial for them.
But the machinations of government can’t just creak to a halt as the new people find their way around. So new ministers rely on ever-present civil servants to guide them. They rely on ministers who haven’t been reshuffled to keep a hand on the tiller. And they rely on their fellow new ministers to be conscientious, decisive and creative about their own parts of the portfolio.
