Tag Archives: disability

Social care is running on empty – but technology can make a difference

There is no single solution to the challenges facing the sector, but technology enabled care can save cash-strapped councils money

It would be easy, but misleading, to say that social care is in crisis. Somehow in many parts of England the system staggers on, using devolution to its advantage. A number of councils have adopted improved ways of working.

However, the sustainability of the system is increasingly being called into question. Whether it’s the Adass budget survey, research by the King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust, or my report for the Carers Trust on the Care Act, the message is broadly the same: the system is running on empty, and people are suffering the consequences.

Why has this not exploded into a major political issue? Most MPs acknowledge that social care is unfinished business, but this has not translated into sufficient political pressure. At a basic level, this is because most people make no distinction between social care, care and support and what the NHS does. It still comes as a shock to many families that social care is not free. Most people make no care plans because they have discounted the chances of ever needing it.

Today the most visible advocate for social care funding is the NHS England boss, Simon Stevens. He told the NHS Confederation conference earlier this year that social care, rather than the NHS, should be at the front of the queue for financial aid. Of course there is a healthy dose of self-interest in this. Health and social care are two sides of the same coin – underinvest in one and you undermine the other.

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East Coast Truckers take youngsters on a special day out

 With a chorus of honking horns and lots of smiling faces, a convoy of trucks set off from County Hall, in Norwich, for an extra special day out.

The East Coast Truckers set off from County Hall on their charity convoy. Oliver Walsh with his driver Arron Peters.

19:50 28 August 2016

The East Coast Truckers children’s convoy took place today, and saw more than 60 trucks take scores of excited youngsters on a trip from Norwich to Pleasurewood Hills and Great Yarmouth.

They were also joined by members of the emergency services for the 70-vehicle procession which created a great spectacle on the county’s roads.

The East Coast Truckers have become famous for the annual event – now in its 31st year – which aims to give children with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds a day they will never forget.

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‘SHUT THAT CHILD UP’

Mum shames ‘sickening’ passenger who screamed abuse at ill child because she was crying on flight

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