Individuals with experience of dementia are being urged to share their knowledge by joining an online mentoring website, as part of the DH Living Well with Dementia scheme.
The department has teamed up with Horsesmouth, a free informal mentoring website, to build the biggest network of online dementia mentors in the country.
Membership is open to sufferers, family members, social and healthcare professionals.
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Thursday, 11 November 2010
Health money to be spent on reablement
Money taken from the NHS budget during the comprehensive spending review and given to adult social care is to be spent on reablement services.
The announcement was made by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, at this year’s annual National Children and Adult Services Conference.
Funding totalling £1 billion will go towards post hospital care and helping people to regain their independence when they return home.
The secretary also announced plans for establishing Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure individuals receive a seamless service from the NHS and social services.
Read more
The announcement was made by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, at this year’s annual National Children and Adult Services Conference.
Funding totalling £1 billion will go towards post hospital care and helping people to regain their independence when they return home.
The secretary also announced plans for establishing Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure individuals receive a seamless service from the NHS and social services.
Read more
Social workers to be given independence
Adult social care workers will be invited to set up independent practices following plans announced by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, at this year’s National Children and Adult Services Conference.
The scheme already exists in children’s services. Under new measures social workers in adult care will be able to set up their own organisations and contract their services to local authorities.
Pilot projects will be set up to test feasibility of the proposals. The main thrust of the scheme is to:
• give social workers more control over their work
• allow them to spend more time with individuals they care for
• reduce the amount of bureaucracy they deal with
• be more creative with the way they use finances and other resources
• increase job satisfaction.
A letter inviting councils to submit expressions of interest to form Social Work Practices will be posted on the DH website. Councils submitting the most promising proposals will be asked to draw up more detailed plans. Details of councils selected for the pilot scheme will be announced early in the new year.
Read more
The scheme already exists in children’s services. Under new measures social workers in adult care will be able to set up their own organisations and contract their services to local authorities.
Pilot projects will be set up to test feasibility of the proposals. The main thrust of the scheme is to:
• give social workers more control over their work
• allow them to spend more time with individuals they care for
• reduce the amount of bureaucracy they deal with
• be more creative with the way they use finances and other resources
• increase job satisfaction.
A letter inviting councils to submit expressions of interest to form Social Work Practices will be posted on the DH website. Councils submitting the most promising proposals will be asked to draw up more detailed plans. Details of councils selected for the pilot scheme will be announced early in the new year.
Read more
Millions reinvested in carers
New measures to support carers were unveiled by Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow, last month.
Over £4 million will be reinvested in projects, ranging from training for health and social care workers, to improving information and making it more easily available.
Funding comes from cancellation of the contract for Caring with Confidence, a scheme for training carers.
New initiatives include a scheme to fund voluntary organisations that make contact and work with carers in the early stages of taking on a caring role for the first time.
Other projects to be funded include a further 200 training places for GPs and practice staff; and £500,000 each for the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Crossroads Care, and Carers UK.
Read more
Over £4 million will be reinvested in projects, ranging from training for health and social care workers, to improving information and making it more easily available.
Funding comes from cancellation of the contract for Caring with Confidence, a scheme for training carers.
New initiatives include a scheme to fund voluntary organisations that make contact and work with carers in the early stages of taking on a caring role for the first time.
Other projects to be funded include a further 200 training places for GPs and practice staff; and £500,000 each for the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Crossroads Care, and Carers UK.
Read more
Push to speed up personalisation
The DH is urging councils to speed up personalisation of budgets following Audit Commission findings that many authorities are failing to give people their own budgets to spend on social care.
The Commission has found only a few councils in England are on target to offer 30% of eligible service users their own budget by April 2011, but most are not.
In its report, Financial Management of Personal Budgets, the Commission reveals six of the 152 councils are meeting the target.
In one council 60% of eligible people have a budget, while in another the figure is just 13%.
The Commission identifies a number of obstacles faced by local authorities , including the challenge of sorting out exactly how much each individual should receive, changing financial systems to cope with the new way of doing things, providing information to people on how the new system works, and making sure there is a local market in social care where budgets can be spent.
The report has details of the different approaches used to move councils from providing services in the traditional way, to providing personal budgets.
Also included is a self assessment form to help councils review progress and identify areas for improvement.
Read more
The Commission has found only a few councils in England are on target to offer 30% of eligible service users their own budget by April 2011, but most are not.
In its report, Financial Management of Personal Budgets, the Commission reveals six of the 152 councils are meeting the target.
In one council 60% of eligible people have a budget, while in another the figure is just 13%.
The Commission identifies a number of obstacles faced by local authorities , including the challenge of sorting out exactly how much each individual should receive, changing financial systems to cope with the new way of doing things, providing information to people on how the new system works, and making sure there is a local market in social care where budgets can be spent.
The report has details of the different approaches used to move councils from providing services in the traditional way, to providing personal budgets.
Also included is a self assessment form to help councils review progress and identify areas for improvement.
Read more
Care in the UK season begins
BBC’s Care in the UK 2010 season has started on its You and Yours programme on Radio 4, and will run alongside its Living Longer season on BBC local radio until Friday 3 December.
The series started with a look at the cost of social care and how it might be paid for in the future.
Guest speaker, Andrew Dilnot, chair of the Commission for the Funding of Care and Support, told the BBC the status quo for funding “is not an option”, and expressed his confidence in the commission’s ability to come up with solutions that politicians across the spectrum can support and will “ do what the population as a whole wants to be done.”
The commission was set up by the government earlier this year to come up with options for funding, and has until July 2011 to draw up its recommendations.
Read more
The series started with a look at the cost of social care and how it might be paid for in the future.
Guest speaker, Andrew Dilnot, chair of the Commission for the Funding of Care and Support, told the BBC the status quo for funding “is not an option”, and expressed his confidence in the commission’s ability to come up with solutions that politicians across the spectrum can support and will “ do what the population as a whole wants to be done.”
The commission was set up by the government earlier this year to come up with options for funding, and has until July 2011 to draw up its recommendations.
Read more
Reporting developments in assistive technology
Details of government backed research into assistive technology can be found in the report Research and development work relating to technology.
Produced annually, it covers research and development work carried out by, or on behalf of, all government departments, and on equipment made to increase the range of activities and independence of disabled people.
It is produced for the Department of Health by the Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST).
Full details of government funded assistive technology research and development projects can be found on the FAST website.
Read more
Produced annually, it covers research and development work carried out by, or on behalf of, all government departments, and on equipment made to increase the range of activities and independence of disabled people.
It is produced for the Department of Health by the Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST).
Full details of government funded assistive technology research and development projects can be found on the FAST website.
Read more
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