Tag Archives: health

Social care service users feel excluded from reform debate

March 28, 2012   Carers

New research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation asked about the state of the social care system and government reform plans

Social care service users have not got the ear of government, says Peter Beresford.

As the government finalises the social care white paper it plans to publish this spring, service users in a national consultation commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have expressed major concerns both about the present state of social care and government proposals for the future.

There are growing fears among older and disabled people and other service users that their voices are not being heard at a time when major reforms in social policy that affect them in particular are taking place. While it is important not to overstate the case from the relatively small number of people consulted, they do represent a diverse range of adult social care service users from different areas in England.

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How can health and social care be encouraged to integrate?

March 27, 2012   Carers, health, hospital

In light of the government’s health and social care reforms, will services of the future offer older people a better deal?

 

Older people account for 75% of NHS activity, so it is vital that healthcare reforms are tailored to their needs.

Older people are the biggest users of the NHS, accounting for 75% of activity. They occupy 60% of hospital beds, according to figures from the charity Age UK, and it is estimated that their health and social care needs alone account for most of the £70bn spent each year on patients with long-term conditions.

With the number of people aged over 85 expected to double in the next 25 years, it is crucial that the NHS of the future has the capacity to cope with the increased demands that this group of patients will bring. But do the planned changes for England outlined in the government’s health and social care reforms offer older people the prospect of improved services in the new-look NHS? And will the reforms produce a more integrated health and social care landscape, which encourages more holistic and seamless care for these elderly and vulnerable patients?

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NICE starts new wave of quality standards

March 22, 2012   Cancer, Carers, health, hospital, Multiple Sclerosis

NICE has been given 123 new quality standards to work on, and includes for the first time new standards for public health.

Published on 22/03/12 at 02:18pm

The latest set of quality standards cover a wide range of topics, including heart failure, irritable bowel syndrome, skin cancer, and obesity in adults.

NICE will also develop public health quality standards in areas that relate to the NHS, the first time it has ever been asked to do this.

The public health topics cover standards for smoking cessation, encouraging physical activity in all people in contact with the NHS, and for preventing and managing alcohol misuse.

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