Tag Archives: social care

Flea bite gets carers banned from helping OAP

August 24, 2012   Carers, Older care
By DAN SALES
Published: 1 hr ago

HEALTH and safety jobsworths banned carers from helping a wheelchair-bound OAP after one got bitten by a FLEA.

Jean Jordan, 78, was abandoned after Essex County Council officials made the bizarre ruling.

Authorities made the move after one carer complained they were bitten by the mite at Jean’s house.

It means the pensioner, who dislocated her shoulder two years ago, has been without care for five days.

She needs helpers to assist with washing and dressing her.

Jean’s son Nigel blasted the council for refusing to do more.

He said: “It’s disgusting the way they have treated my mother.

“How can they say it was a flea bite from this house? I’ve tidied all the rooms and sprayed flea killer but I don’t think there have been any here.

“It could have been a fly or a mosquito bite from anywhere, especially in this weather.”

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Care home procurement model fails vulnerable children

August 13, 2012   Carers

Parts of the country have a disproportionate numbers of care homes, with local authorities simply accepting what the market offers

The Ridgeway, Mill Hill East, London

Five thousand children and young people are in residential care, costing £1bn a year. Photograph: Sophia Evans for the Guardian

Certain parts of the country, such as Rochdale, have a disproportionate number of care homes – with children coming in from different areas.

The government has promised action on this, saying it will make it harder for councils to send children out of their areas. It has also asked Ofsted, which is responsible for inspecting care homes, to inform the police of care homes in their areas.

The problem has been attributed partly to care homes being situated in cheaper parts of the country because of market forces, as 75% of care homes are run by private companies.

However, this is a symptom of a major failure in procurement of care places by local government. The heart of the problem is that local authorities operate independently, thus preventing any coherent approach to managing the situation and influencing the market.

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Speech: Paul Burstow, King’s Fund, 18 July 2012

July 20, 2012   Carers

FIXING BEVERIDGE’S ORPHAN: PUTTING IDEAS INTO ACTION

Thank you for the invitation to take part in your conference today.

Just seven days have passed since the publication of the Care and Support White Paper and draft Bill.  And of course the progress report on reform of how care is paid for.

I think social care can be described as Beveridge’s or perhaps Bevan’s orphan.  What was left after the birth of the NHS in 1946.

Social care has suffered ever since.  Hidden behind its favoured sibling: the NHS.

For most people social care is out of sight until life takes a turn that tips us into a crisis.

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