Home Care News
Extra £1.5 billion announced for social care in Chancellor's Spending Review
04 Sep 2019
In today’s Spending Round the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, has announced he is to commit £1.5 billion in new funding for social care. Addressing MPs in the House of Commons, Mr Javid promised.....
Flexible Working Bill for all jobs gets MPs approval - delighting parents, disabled and carers
17 Jul 2019
A Flexible Working Bill seeking to demand all jobs be advertised as flexible from day one of employment, was approved to go to a second reading on 17 July – prompting delight amongst parents, people with disabilities and family carers......
Overnight care workers forced to sleep in offices and told 'bring your own bedding'
18 Jun 2019
Care staff who work night shifts are regularly bedding down in offices, on dirty mattresses, or pretty much anywhere they can find to sleep for the night, according to a new report by a care workers' union......
PM candidates on social care: Rory Stewart calls fixing care an 'unfinished revolution'
11 Jun 2019
As the 10-strong Tory race for the next Prime Minister gets underway with much talk about Brexit, candidate Rory Stewart has said the “great unfinished revolution” of sorting out social care is overdue. 'Great.....
Amber Rudd announces scrapping of controversial PIP payment review for pensioners
05 Mar 2019
Amber Rudd has cited her father’s blindness as the motivating factor in an announcement that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is to scrap repeat tests for pensioners receiving PIP payments. This.....
England's elderly face unfair and 'improper' care assessments, says Human Rights Watch
10 Jan 2019
Unfair and ‘’improper” care assessments are stripping England’s older people of their dignity and independence, according to Human Rights Watch. People aged 58 to 94, interviewed by the human rights body.....
Social care is 'missing puzzle piece' from long-term NHS plan
07 Jan 2019
NHS England has unveiled its ten-year plan which will focus on prevention and shift money away from hospitals to community care, mental health services and GP surgeries. But there is little mention of social.....
Four in ten home care workers leave their role every year
11 Dec 2018
Squeezed funding and staff shortages has left the home care sector in an “extremely fragile state”, new research has found. A report published by the King’s Fund and University of York, found four in 10 home.....
Allied Healthcare offloads home care contracts
20 Nov 2018
Allied Healthcare is seeking to transfer or sell all of its home care contracts to other providers in the wake of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) damning notice on its financial viability. The care regulator.....
Tax increases urgently needed to rescue adult social care, warn councils
14 Nov 2018
Increasing income tax or National Insurance (NI) contributions must be urgently considered by the Government to rescue the future of adult social care, councils have warned. The Local Government Association.....
Government says 'sleep-in' care workers aren't entitled to minimum wage
08 Nov 2018
Care workers should not be paid the National Minimum Wage for every hour of a sleep-in shift, the government has announced. New guidance by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).....
Mandatory learning disability training for NHS staff to include autism
25 Oct 2018
Proposals for all NHS staff to have mandatory learning disability training will now also include autism, according to a commitment made by care minister, Caroline Dinenage, at a Parliament debate. The debate.....
Care providers fear 'judge and jury' powers threaten elderly's rights
22 Oct 2018
Care providers are urging the government to protect the human rights of elderly and disabled people from a "poorly-drafted" bill which proposes new powers for care homes and a potential conflict of interest......
Place your bets: Social care green paper or general election?
27 Sep 2018
Which one will come first? The public was promised a blueprint for social care by Theresa May this Autumn but some in the care sector may wonder if their hopes for the delivery of a green paper will be dashed once more, as Labour.....
Childcare voucher founder suggests paying for care homes with social care vouchers
07 Sep 2018
John Woodward, founder of Busy Bees Nurseries and the pioneer of childcare vouchers, believes a social care version of this system, plus a 'care ISA' could "form part of the jigsaw of options" for the social care funding crisis. Mr.....
Over two-thirds would pay more tax to fund free social care for all
06 Sep 2018
Over two-thirds of people in England would be happy to pay more tax to fund free personal care for everyone, according to a charity. The YouGov poll for Independent Age found 74 per cent of adults support.....
'Beyond heart-breaking': Unnecessary hospital admissions for elderly at record levels
05 Sep 2018
Avoidable hospital admissions for the elderly are at record levels, with people over 65 seeing over a hundred per cent rise, according to an interim report by Age UK. The charity has warned that readmissions.....
Can care worker sleep-in back pay row be put to bed with new court ruling?
13 Jul 2018
The Appeal Court has ruled in favour of Mencap, by overturning a previous employment tribunal which said overnight care workers should be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rather than a flat fee. The.....
Bereaved mum calls for mandatory learning disability training
20 Jun 2018
A mum of an 18-year-old who died in hospital after a reaction to anti-psychotic drugs, has called for all health professionals to be given mandatory learning disability training. Oliver McGowan had a mild.....
Theresa May's delay of green paper ignores elderly who 'deserve better'
19 Jun 2018
Social care's long-awaited green paper has been postponed again until the autumn, the health secretary Jeremy Hunt has told MPs. Speaking in the House of Commons, Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell on Monday.....
Social care must wait till 2020 for money while NHS gets £20bn
18 Jun 2018
Care leaders have expressed their anger over social care having to wait until 2020 for extra money, despite the Prime Minister promising the NHS £20bn more a year over five years as a 70th birthday present. Prime.....
Care minister: 'We're missing a trick' if we don't help informal carers like my mother
05 Jun 2018
Hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers across England will have better job prospects, the Care Minister has promised as part of an action plan she hoped her own mother ‘could have benefitted from’ when she was a carer. Care.....
Elderly feel suicidal over battle to get care at home
01 Jun 2018
Older people are living in misery without home care and some like ’Brian’ have considered taking their own life because council cuts have taken away 3 million hours of home care since 2015, leaving them trapped without help in a.....
MPs say a PR campaign will fix 'negative perceptions of care'
09 May 2018
An advertising campaign designed to challenge ‘negative perceptions of care’ must be launched by the Government to stop low morale in the care sector, a cross party committee of MPs has said. MPs, who are.....
UK should think like Japanese and 'learn from' their social care
09 May 2018
England’s social care system could learn a thing or two from the Japanese way of giving care, according to a leading health think tank. 'Transparency' of Japan's system When it comes.....
Home care agencies warn sleep-in back pay bill will cause redundancies
08 May 2018
A fifth of home care workers could face redundancy if home care providers and charities are forced to give care workers back pay of up to six years, for overnight shifts. A survey has revealed that 20 per.....
Underpaid disability claimants to receive up to £20,000 due to DWP miscalculation
21 Mar 2018
The Government has been ordered to cough up between £570m and £830m to cover overdue disability benefits payments, which were mistakenly underpaid when previous benefits schemes were changed over to the Employment and Support Allowance.....
Jeremy Hunt pledges care cap to stop 'unfair' costs for those with dementia
20 Mar 2018
Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt has launched his blueprint for reforming the social care system, promising the much anticipated Green Paper in the summer will “kick start the vital debate” into social care funding. Speaking.....
'Tigger-like' Hammond's Spring Statement condemned by social care's 'Eeyores'
13 Mar 2018
Philip Hammond was bouncy as he delivered his Spring Statement, describing himself as ‘positively Tigger-like’ while announcing the economy had grown every year since 2010, however his speech gave no joy to the care sector. With.....
Sex is a basic 'human right' for elderly with dementia
08 Mar 2018
The care sector needs to let older people with dementia live as ‘full human beings’, according to Scottish Care’s chief executive who has condemned ‘negative and unhelpful attitudes’ about the elderly's sexual needs. ‘Human.....
PIP assessors branded 'incompetent' at best and 'actively deceitful' at worst
14 Feb 2018
MPs have criticised assessors of the two main disability benefits, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), branding them 'at best lacking in competence and at worst actively deceitful'......
Fifteen-minute visits for intimate care 'indicative of a care system in crisis'
08 Feb 2018
Around 20,000 people in the UK are receiving ‘flying care visits’ lasting for only 15 minutes, with at least 18,875 people receiving these visits for support with intimate personal care, new research shows. This is despite guidance.....
Firefighters angry at losing 'day job' to help elderly falling at home
25 Jan 2018
Firefighters fear more lives are being put at risk now that West Midlands Fire Service has involved them in care contracts with councils to help older people because of a shortage of home care workers. West.....
Music is 'powerful but under-used tool' for people with dementia
18 Jan 2018
The Commission on Dementia and Music has called on local authorities and the NHS to recognise the ‘therapeutic potential of music’, saying it is a ‘powerful but under-used tool’. Its report ‘What would life.....
People with dementia forced to fight for free NHS care
17 Jan 2018
People with dementia are being forced to fight funding battles so they can receive Continuing Healthcare, with some ending up dying before a decision on eligibility has been made. Continuing Healthcare funding.....
Wales' 'bold new models of care' will 'fail without funding'
16 Jan 2018
An independent panel commissioned by the Welsh Government has published its vision for health and social care, however critics say its failure to address the “fundamentally important issue of funding” puts the plan in jeopardy. The.....
Sir David Behan steps down as head of CQC
15 Jan 2018
Sir David Behan has announced he is to step down as chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt hailing him as an “exceptional leader”. He will continue as head of the.....
Majority of Scottish home care firms think they won't survive 2018
11 Jan 2018
Some 86 per cent of independent home care providers in Scotland believe they won’t survive 2018 and have been described as "genuinely close to collapse". Research by Scottish Care, which represents independent.....
Jeremy Hunt keeps top job but gains 'social care'
09 Jan 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle has seen Jeremy Hunt retain his position as the country’s top health chief, prompting many to hope his new title of ‘Health and Social Care Secretary’ will bring ‘a new dawn’ and not.....
Budget 2017: 'Seize opportunities' Chancellor fails to mention social care
22 Nov 2017
Despite his speech’s repetitive slogan that the UK must ‘seize opportunities’ particularly in light of Brexit, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond spread no Christmas cheer for many of the most vulnerable in society, choosing.....
Government to 'take time' with care leaders before publishing Green Paper
16 Nov 2017
Cabinet Office Minister Damian Green has announced the Government will take 'the time needed' to work with care leaders to shape its long-awaited Green Paper on social care, before publishing proposals in Summer 2018......
Rise in ambulance delays as service is 'pushed to the brink'
03 Nov 2017
Current ambulance handover targets are failing, with a dramatic rise in the number of patients stuck in ambulances outside hospitals, according to recent figures obtained by the Labour party under a freedom of information request. The.....
Charities condemn Government back-pay scheme for overnight care workers
03 Nov 2017
Care providers have been given a year to identify how much back-pay they owe ‘sleep-in’ care workers, and a further three months to pay off the arrears, under a new scheme set out by the Government. The.....
Requests to lock up people with dementia hit record high
01 Nov 2017
The number of applications to detain people with mental health issues, dementia or learning difficulties for their own safety has reached the highest level on record. The application process, known as Deprivation.....
Nurse numbers fall with Brexit exposing workforce 'fragility'
12 Oct 2017
The number of nurses in the NHS has fallen for the first time since April 2013, causing The King’s Fund to warn that Brexit has 'exposed the fragility of NHS workforce planning', a day after the Prime Minister promised more money.....
Care staff give good care in 'toughest climate' but CQC warns it's 'unsustainable'
10 Oct 2017
Most adult social care services are rated as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in its latest annual State of Care report but the watchdog warns this is only because of the hard work of staff operating in extreme conditions,.....
Unions attack Government and 'minimum wage cheats' in home care 'sleep-in' row
29 Sep 2017
The Government has announced a one-month suspension of minimum wage enforcement for ‘sleep-in’ shifts while it establishes whether the sector needs further support. Organisations, including charities, had.....
NICE: Let them take risks, don't 'give up' on those needing home care
22 Sep 2017
People living at home should be allowed to take risks and care staff should not ‘give up' on those 'trying to be independent after a hospital discharge or in their own homes', NICE warns. In its first ever.....
Eight in 10 MPs say funding for social care is 'insufficient'
31 Aug 2017
Over 80 per cent of MPs believe the funding for social care in the UK is ‘insufficient’ with 90 per cent saying the current social care system is ‘unfit for purpose’, according to a new poll. The survey of.....
'Unable to boil an egg or make the bed': Report reveals home care workers lack basic skills
24 Aug 2017
Some care workers who support people in their own homes lack experience and basic skills, including the ability to wash someone or make their breakfast, a new report has found. According to a Healthwatch.....