Care Providers’ Press Releases

'Moving and Handling' course will help carers to move people safely
30-Jul-10
As part of its efforts to support carers, Wirral Council has been organizing courses to help carers to move and handle people safely. The next course will be held on Thursday September 16, and will demonstrate read full article

Help shape future support for carers
30-Jul-10
Crossroads Care is preparing its response to the government’s consultation on the Carers Strategy, and is looking for carers who want to help shape its submission. Paul Burstow MP, Minister for Care Services, read full article

Public to have more say in social care
29-Jul-10
Plans to spark a fundamental transformation in social care in Wales have been opened up for public discussion. Citizen Directed Support is a new way of giving people who use social care support the chance to read full article

Opportunity to help improve care services for adults
29-Jul-10
A consultation to help improve care services and healthcare outcomes for adults with autism in England was launched today by Care Services Minister Paul Burstow. This is the next step to help adults with autism read full article

Default Retirement Age to be scrapped
29-Jul-10
The Government announced this morning that the Default Retirement Age will be scrapped by October 2011, under proposals published for consultation today. Age UK has led the campaign to abolish the Default Retirement read full article

New research suggests that people with a sleep disorder have a higher risk of developing dementia
28-Jul-10
People who experience rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) may go on to develop conditions such as dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease, or multiple system atrophy. The researchers studied read full article

The Good Care Group participate in the dementia debate
28-Jul-10
The Good Care Group will be presenting and exhibiting at this year’s 5th Dementia Congress, the UK’s lead dementia event being held at Bournemouth International Centre between 9-11 November. Zoe Elkins, Head of read full article

Radical changes planned for social care
28-Jul-10
Radical plans to secure the future of care services in Derbyshire have been unveiled by the county council. Under the proposals people will be asked to help pay towards their care from the disability living read full article

Panorama documentary on crisis in the care system
26-Jul-10
With almost a quarter of the population likely to be over 65 within 20 years, how we pay for the care of our ageing population is a problem that successive governments have failed to solve. It's set to become read full article

Large study confirms education reduces symptoms of dementia
26-Jul-10
Researchers from the UK and Finland have discovered why people who stay in education longer have a lower risk of developing dementia - a question that has puzzled scientists for the past decade. Examining the read full article

Review of arm's length bodies to cut bureaucracy
26-Jul-10
Bureaucracy will be cut and the functions of several organisations will be streamlined, following a review of arm’s length bodies (ALBs), published by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley today. In total, the changes read full article

Mayor commends Halton Goals for volunteering efforts
26-Jul-10
Halton Mayor, Marie Wright, and Mayoress, Sheila Walsh, welcomed residents of Runcorn based homelessness service, Halton Goals, to Runcorn Town Hall to thank them for their volunteering efforts. Residents and read full article

Free counselling for carers
26-Jul-10
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is offering free counselling sessions to carers of all ages across the County Borough. The initiative forms part of the wider commitment by the authority to ensure carers have the support read full article

Cancer and Palliative Care Awareness Week 2010
26-Jul-10
Extra support is being offered to Walsall people concerned about the risks of cancer and about the range of end-of-life care services available locally. A four day awareness campaign is due to take place in read full article

Clegg defends changes to benefits
22-Jul-10
The Deputy Prime Minister has defended medical tests that are being brought in to check people's entitlement to the disability living allowance. Kate Green, Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston, said the changes read full article

Anti-ageing gene linked to Alzheimer's
22-Jul-10
SIRT1, a gene associated with anti-ageing has been linked to the production of an Alzheimer’s protein according to a study in Cell. Researchers at MIT found that SIRT1 appears to prevent production of damaging read full article

New memorial fund to access the arts
22-Jul-10
Enjoying the arts is something that carers and their disabled relatives or friends should be able to do together without any barriers. Too often, carers are ground down by the practical issues relating to disability read full article

Liberating the NHS: commissioning for patients - consultation on proposals
22-Jul-10
The Government’s White Paper, Equality and excellence: liberating the NHS, published on 12 July, set out proposals for putting local consortia of GP practices in charge of commissioning services to best meet the read full article

Campaign to help carers get the support they deserve
21-Jul-10
A campaign to encourage carers to join a support service in Wolverhampton is proving a success. There are an estimated 25,700 unpaid carers living in the city who care for a friend, relative or neighbour without read full article

Finding funding
20-Jul-10
Funding for care services must be protected until the government has considered the findings of a commission looking at older people's care, Anchor Chief Executive Jane Ashcroft said today. Jane is urging all read full article

Government outlines details of how it plans to address social care problems
20-Jul-10
More details about how the government plans to address the problem of providing care and support for an ageing population were unveiled by Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley. The terms of reference read full article

Tell us what you think about charging for adult social care services
20-Jul-10
Central Bedfordshire Council is seeking views on how non-residential adult social care services should be charged for. Adult social care is changing with the introduction of Personal Budgets and so the policy read full article

First step to sustainable care and support system
20-Jul-10
The first step towards creating a sustainable care and support system for all adults that puts individuals and their families at its heart, was unveiled today by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. In setting out read full article

Social care review's big chance to improve older people's lives
20-Jul-10
The new Commission on Social Care must grab the chance to make long-lasting improvements to the lives of older people and their families, says the man in charge of Bupa’s UK care homes. Speaking as the members read full article

The long-term care solution
20-Jul-10
The English Community Care Association (ECCA), the leading representative body for independent care providers, has welcomed the announcement of who will be on the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support and read full article

Free bus pass age raised to 65
16-Jul-10
Alistair Darling's plans to raise the age of eligibility for free bus passes from 60 to 65 have been adopted by the Transport Secretary. The former Chancellor announced his intention to steadily up the criteria read full article

GPs to be 'NHS gatekeepers' - PM
16-Jul-10
Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to give GPs "the trust and the money and the power" to be the "gatekeepers" of the NHS. A White Paper has been launched announcing the biggest shake-up of the NHS in read full article

2009/10 National Survey of Investment in Adult Mental Health Services
16-Jul-10
This is the ninth annual report presenting the results of the finance mapping exercise. It provides details of the level of investment in mental health services for working age adults (aged 18-64) in England for read full article

4 million boost to give patients control of their health care
15-Jul-10
A pilot scheme that offers patients more choice and control over their healthcare was given a £4 million boost today by Care Services Minister Paul Burstow. The money will be used to support personal health read full article

Care UK nominated for Jobcentre Plus Employer of the Year
15-Jul-10
Care UK’s, the country’s leading provider of health and social care, could be in line for two top employment awards for finding new ways to recruit talented and committed staff in the East Midlands. The company’s read full article

Mencap launches Mencap Direct
14-Jul-10
Learning disability charity, Mencap, has today announced the launch of a new national telephone service - Mencap Direct 0300 333 11 11. This is a new service which makes it easy for people with a learning disability, read full article

Government urged to introduce new measures for carers
14-Jul-10
Barbara Keeley MP today proposed a Carers (Support and Identification) Bill in the House of Commons. If passed, the bill would require: • GPs and health services to identify patients who are carers or have read full article

Study claims people with large heads better able to cope with Alzheimer's disease
13-Jul-10
A new study claims that people with Alzheimer’s disease who have large heads have better memory and thinking skills than those with the disease who have smaller heads, even when they have the same amount of brain read full article

Government White Paper
13-Jul-10
The English Community Care Association (ECCA), the leading representative body for independent care providers, has responded to the Government’s White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS'. Martin read full article

Exercise could reduce dementia risk
12-Jul-10
Physical exercise and a regular cup of tea or coffee could be the best treatment against mental decline during old age, according to two separate US studies. In one study, researchers from Harvard Medical School, read full article

Alzheimer's Society response to Government White Paper
12-Jul-10
The Government has announced new measures to give doctors and patients more control of NHS services. The White Paper announcement to give GPs more powers could be effective if there is a high level of accountability, read full article

Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS
12-Jul-10
Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley today set out the Government's ambitious plans to reform the NHS during this Parliament and for the long-term. The White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating read full article

Health Secretary announces review into palliative care funding
09-Jul-10
A new review into the funding of palliative care was announced today by the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, in a speech to the International Carers Conference in Leeds. The review, chaired by read full article

Research hints at Alzheimer's cure
09-Jul-10
A new pill could be developed that reverses mental decline linked to ageing such as with conditions like Alzheimer's. Early animal research on new nerve drugs hint at a possible cure being found for memory loss read full article

US study shows depression in elderly linked to dementia
09-Jul-10
A study this week has revealed older people who suffer from depression are at double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study highlights many possible explanations for the link between depression in read full article

Judicial review of Health Ombudsman decision-making process granted
06-Jul-10
Following the publication of Mencap's Death by Indifference report in March 2007, which highlighted the unnecessary deaths of Martin, Mark, Ted, Tom, Warren and Emma, these cases were referred to the Ombudsman read full article

Over half can't afford retired life
05-Jul-10
More than half of older people are looking forward to the exciting new opportunities that retirement could bring without actually planning ahead for the costs, a survey has revealed. Of those surveyed over the read full article

Differences in the nation's health revealed
05-Jul-10
A snapshot of health for each local area comparing key statistics such as life expectancy, deprivation and early deaths from stroke and heart disease has been published today by the Department of Health. The read full article

Test 'may identify centenarians'
05-Jul-10
People could soon find out if they are likely to live to 100 with a genetic test. A set of genetic fingerprints that predict extreme long life with an accuracy of 77% have been identified by scientists, who read full article

Poll finds that 31% of people would not know how to get support following a diagnosis of dementia
05-Jul-10
Alzheimer’s Society has found that although 1 in 3 people over 65 will die with dementia, almost a third (31%) of people would not know how to get information and support if they received a diagnosis. A YouGov read full article

Dementia Awareness week 4th - 10th July 2010
04-Jul-10
The Good Care Group and a number of leading charities are raising awareness of dementia this week as part of Dementia Awareness Week. Charities including our Charity of the Year, Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s read full article

Fresh hope for arthritis sufferers
02-Jul-10
The health watchdog has performed a U-turn on its decision to reject a new arthritis drug because it was too expensive. The decision gives hope for patients in England and Wales suffering from rheumatoid arthritis read full article

Lifeways celebrates its 15th anniversary with some very special guests
01-Jul-10
The UK’s largest specialist provider of supported living services, Lifeways Community Care, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month with those individuals who they have had the honour of supporting over read full article