To join us online, please visit us at http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk and follow the links below to join our discussions:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/embracelearnuk
Sunday 30 November 2014
George Osborne and Ed Balls discuss the funding proposals set out by Osborne on the Andrew Marr show – that he will put an additional £2bn into frontline health services. He described it as a “down payment” which he was able to commit to because of the economy being strong. What are your thoughts about this? Have you heard confirmation that the economy is currently strong? You can watch the video here:
The Buddy effect: improving mental health treatment, one pet at a time
Visits by an adorable dog are just one of a myriad of practical, low-cost changes that Marion Janner and her Star Wards charity are bringing to mental health facilities across the UK.
Thursday 27 November 2014
Carers UK and Embrace-learning have joined forces to provide you with all the information you need to know about the new Care Act:
A dedicated website: http://thecareact.co.uk and an e-learning course, The Care Act Unpacked. You can view a free demo here: http://thecareact.co.uk/the_course.php
A
report by Sir Stephen Bubbs into the serious shortcomings in support for those
with learning difficulties has been published. It recommends a charter of
rights, more community-based support, and the closure of inappropriate
facilities.
Sir Stephen said: "We urge immediate action, to close all
Winterbourne-style institutions and ramp up community provision."
Tuesday 25 November 2014
A fascinating article written by Saba Salman in the
Guardian on 19th November discusses the longest-running research
project into people with Down’s syndrome. The study, carried out by Dr Janet
Carr, now 87, has been running for 50 years. It began with 54 babies who were born
with the condition in 1964.
Mary O’Hara reports on the Learning Disability Alliance England (LDA), which has been set up to increase awareness of issues that affect people with learning disabilities. For example, austerity cuts, hate crime, and mistreatment in institutions.
The message is obvious and, as I’m sure you’ll agree, long overdue: that if we want to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities, we need to listen to what they have to say and involve them in decision-making processes about the support they need.
Today in London at a forum about the global depression crisis, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan called for the tackling of depression to be made a global priority. Issues raised at the forum include:
- a widespread failure to recognise the scale of the problem, and put in place resources to overcome it.
- The WHO estimate depression is already the leading cause of disability worldwide - and set to rise.
- The NHS should be reorganised in such a way that physical and mental health issues are treated concurrently, not separately as they are now.
The Commission has announced a new partnership with The Silver Line 24/7 helpline for the elderly. The Silver Line, which has been described as 'ChildLine for older people', is celebrating its first birthday. The partnership will help the Commission to determine when and where inspections are appropriate, and to identify areas of excellence.
Sunday 23 November 2014
In response to CQC guidance on openness and transparency, Rob Webster, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “The Duty of Candour guidance must be seen as an enabler in the development of a culture of openness when things go wrong and when reputations and lives are at risk.”
From April 2015, the CQC will take over the responsibility from the HSE for deciding whether regulatory action should be taken when health and safety incidents are reported which involve people who use health and adult social care services regulated by the CQC: http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/have-your-say-how-safety-incidents-will-be-acted-upon-next-april
A private members bill, which aims to limit NHS 'privatisation', has cleared its first
parliamentary hurdle. Under the bill, compulsory tendering for NHS
contracts would be prevented and the income generated by private patients for NHS
hospitals would be restricted.
The bill is
supported by UKIP MP Mark Reckless, who stated: "I am guilty of having
believed the undertakings I was given by those on the government
frontbench" about the NHS reforms.
Friday 21 November 2014
The commission has published 'intelligent monitoring reports' to aid its inspectors in deciding which of the NHS trusts (who provide mental health services) to prioritise. The new model considers 59 separate levels of evidence including bed occupancy, the NHS staff survey, the national health outpatient survey, together with concerns raised by trust staff. The model is augmented by local information from partners and the public.
GP Practices can purchase pay monthly package deals
with courses for as little as £0.72p per learner including a free Learner
Management System. There are 5 package deals to choose from, starting with 5
course titles in our Mandatory Pack going up to 50+ course titles in the
Platinum pack. Click here for
further details:
Fifty GP surgeries in Greater Manchester have been
labelled the highest priority for inspections by the Care Quality Commission. Another
21 surgeries in the region fall within the second highest priority banding.
However, Dr Kailash Chand, Deputy Chairman of the
British Medical Association, has warned that the figures are ‘misleading’ and
don’t take into account the different circumstances in which the practices have
to operate.
Wednesday 19 November 2014
Are you or is someone you know looking to learn or develop skills which will open opportunities to work, or advance further in the health and social sector? To browse our wide range of e-learning courses, including those relating to disability and dementia awareness, guidance about the new #CareAct, and a range of qualifications essential for people who want to work in the sector, please visit: http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk/Website/Pages/Guest/courselist.php or give us a call on 0161 928 9987.
At Embrace-learning, our team of educationalists, designers and software developers are passionate about what they do. Our strength lies in how we work to provide our clients with e-learning that is cost-efficient, engaging and effective.
To join us online, please visit us at http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk
Monday 17 November 2014
The National Information Board has published a report into how digital technology will transform people's health, as well as the health of the NHS. The plans include:
- everyone being able to access their GP records online by 2015
- all other health records to follow by 2018
- a national digital standard for people at end of life
- the Personal Child Health Record (the red book) to be digitalised
- real time data to be available to paramedics, doctors, nurses and midwives
- digitalisation to play a vital role in contributing to the £22 billion efficiency savings target
Richard Vize's surgical examination of the bureaucratic
shambles that has accompanied the passage of the Better Care Fund. Ministerial
micro-management, lack of initial management structure, a flawed and ultimately
abandoned bidding process, all have proved to be counter-productive, alienating
hospitals and councils. He argues that the whole concept is merely a
distraction from the real issue - the Five Year Forward View.
http://www.theguardian.com/
Thursday 13 November 2014
A moving account of 11 year old Antonia-Rae Budgen Davis who has been caring for her mother on her own since she was six. She is one of the estimated 700,000 young carers in England.
From April next year, elements of the Care Act, together with the Children and Families Act, mean local authorities must take reasonable steps to identify young carers, assess their needs, and state what those needs are.
A commentary on Margaret Hodge's new role as implementer of Southwark's Better Care Fund, a project she has described as beset by "unacceptable incompetence". In this single London borough, she is tasked with making the council, NHS, police and the voluntary sector work together, with the stated aim, ultimately, to reduce demands on the NHS and prison service.
The Social Care Institute for Excellence's (SCIE) chief executive, Tony Hunter, on the Care Act's requirement for advocacy services. From next April, councils are obliged to provide these services for people who have "substantial difficulty" in being fully involved in decision making.
For commissioners who might find this new responsibility daunting, the institute has produced a new guide.
In conjunction with Carers UK, we've produced an e-learning course to help anyone working in the health and social care sector to understand all they/you need to know about the #CareAct http://goo.gl/Dfd3ZA
The government has published the Care Act's
fundamental standards regulations. Two of these standards, the duty of candour,
and the fit and proper person requirement, come into force on 27 November. The
remaining 10 standards will be implemented next April. These are as follows:
- care and treatment must be appropriate and
reflect service users' needs and preferences
- service users must be treated with dignity and
respect
- care and treatment must only be provided with
consent
- care and treatment must be provided in a safe way
- service users must be protected from abuse and
improper treatment
- service users' nutritional and hydration needs
must be met
- all premises and equipment used must be clean,
secure, suitable and used properly
- complaints must be appropriately investigated and
appropriate action taken in response
- systems and processes must be established to ensure
compliance with the fundamental standards
- sufficient numbers of suitably qualified,
competent, skilled and experienced staff must be deployed
Wednesday 12 November 2014
GP Martin Brunet offers a fascinating appraisal of how
dementia is diagnosed, and what should happen when a positive diagnosis is
made. He describes the latest government £55 'bribe' to GP's as 'hare-brained',
and offers alternative recommendations. He advocates,
- not referring patients to 'memory clinics'. They just
serve to frighten people recently diagnosed with dementia
- the appointment of a trained memory worker for each GP
practice
- having memory clinics attend GP practices.
He highlights a disparity between the resources freely on
offer to the newly born, to the vacuum newly diagnosed dementia patients
receive. Well trained memory workers can fill this void, "...expanding
[people's] horizons rather than closing them down".
He also suggests ways in which this new approach could be
(in part at least) funded:
- diverting the £5 million GP incentive scheme
- abolishing the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation
payment, "...an expensive box-ticking exercise of questionable
value".
Tuesday 11 November 2014
The government has been embarrassed by the findings of its own financial watchdog, the National Audit Office. The £2 billion Better Care Fund, designed to reduce hospital admissions, is judged to be founded "on optimism rather than evidence”.
Integrated care is seen as unlikely to deliver the hoped for 3.5% reduction per year in hospital admissions, particularly as they've been increasing at the rate of 47% over the last 15 years.
The main consequence of the new initiative, it is forecast, will be to create a £700 million black hole in NHS funding.
Friday 7 November 2014
To join us online, please visit us at http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk and don’t forget to follow the links below to join our discussions:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/embracelearnuk
Thursday 6 November 2014
Are you or is someone you know looking to learn or develop skills which will open opportunities to work, or advance further in the health and social sector? To browse our wide range of e-learning courses, including those relating to disability and dementia awareness, guidance about the new #CareAct, and a range of qualifications essential for people who want to work in the sector, please visit: http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk/Website/Pages/Guest/courselist.php or give us a call on 0161 928 9987.
Wednesday 5 November 2014
We round up daily news, reports, and announcements relating to health and social care on our Tumblr blog. Click http://embrace-learning-blog.tumblr.com to follow us and post your comments!
Tuesday 4 November 2014
Of those renewing, 2.5% will be subject to an audit. Those selected for audit will be required to send in a profile demonstrating how their professional development meets the council's standards. This profile should include:
- a summary of your practice history over the last two years (up to 500 words)
- a statement of how you’ve met the standards of continuing professional development
- evidence to support your statement.
The best form of evidence would be a certificate demonstrating that you have received the latest training in your field.
For information about our e-learning courses for people working in health and social care, please click here: http://goo.gl/m9Ad9Z
Monday 3 November 2014
At the National Children and Adult Services Conference on Thursday, Jeremy Hunt repeated his belief that recording systems in health and social care could be much improved if care homes could access and update their residents’ GP records. What do you think? http://goo.gl/f3X5zJ
Sunday 2 November 2014
"Combining two leaky buckets does not create a watertight solution" was how Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, described the proposed integration of the NHS and social care systems. Nick Triggle discusses the government’s plans and refers to the funding aspect as “an elephant in the room”: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29823764
An interactive guide to the growing social care sector. “People may never come to talk about “social care” as familiarly as they do about the NHS, but there is a real sense that this sleeping giant of a sector is stirring and starting to make itself heard.”
How the £43bn a year sector is taking unprecedented steps to raise its profile and meet the challenges ahead: http://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/labs/social-care-sector-interactive-guide/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)