Of course the money matters. But the debate about social care should be about meaning and purpose as well as who pays A new year and a new minister will pick up the social care reform baton. But how far will they get before they pass it on or drop it? This year offers little prospect of short-term relief for the social care sector. I hope I am wrong, but the absence of any new funding in the November budget makes further cash unlikely. That means all eyes will be on the green

The government’s refusal to embrace prevention rather than treatment as the way forward is putting Britain’s greatest post-war achievement in jeopardy The NHS will celebrate its 70th birthday this year. Last month, Jeremy Hunt credited the Tory party for its formation. History tells a different story. The National Health Service was introduced in 1948 by Clement Attlee’s Labour government. The Conservatives consistently voted against it. Before 1948, the have-nots feared ill

“The number of elderly people being rushed into A&E from care homes has risen by 62% since the Tories took power.” Jeremy Corbyn, 10 January 2018 Around 28,000 emergency admissions were made to hospitals in England from care homes in 2016/17, compared to around 18,000 in 2010/11 (the first year of the Coalition government). That’s an increase of 62%. This is not exactly the same as saying that 28,000 people were admitted last year though, as the same person may be admitted mo

MPs have warned that vulnerable patients could be at risk because of demands for efficiency savings on care that’s provided outside hospitals. NHS Continuing Healthcare funding is for patients who need more than social care, such as washing and dressing. But the Public Accounts Committee says in a report today that some patients are not told they are eligible and some have died before the money came through. https://www.channel4.com/news/report-vulnerable-patients-at-risk-bec

MANY of England’s largest care home providers have at least a quarter of their properties classified as failing, research found. Care Quality Commission inspection results of 54 providers operating at least 12 homes revealed some had half or more of their homes criticised by the regulator. Two of the biggest finished near the bottom of the table, Four Seasons Group at 43rd and Orchard Care Homes at 49th. More than a third of 167 Four Seasons homes were rated as inadequate or

Calls for cuts to the cost of care for some ill and disabled patients could put safety at risk, MPs have said. Officials want local health bodies to cut the amount spent on the NHS’s Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding packages and NHS-funded nursing care by hundreds of millions of pounds over coming years. The Commons public accounts committee said it was unclear how this could be done without raising the threshold for eligibility or limiting the packages available, “both of

One of the UK’s biggest care home providers has decided to drop controversial “after death” fees following an investigation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) welcomed Maria Mallaband Care Group’s (MMCG) decision to stop using a contract term requiring the payment of one month’s fees following the death of a resident who paid for their own care. The move comes as part of an ongoing consumer law investigation by the watchdog into fees charged by a number of care home