2000 The Care Standards Act What it did Led to the establishment of the General Social Care Council in England and the Care Council for Wales in 2001. It followed two white papers in 1998 and 1999, Modernising Social Services and Building for the Future, which highlighted concerns about failures and low public confidence in [...]

Depression is a problem for over 2.9 million people over Christmas, according to Dr Gowrisunkur consultant psychiatrist from the Priory. More than 2.9 million people in the UK are diagnosed as having depression  at any one time.  As many as one in three people will be affected by depression at some point in their lives. People [...]

An explosion in the number of people aged over 85 over the coming years will put ‘profound’ pressure on health and social care services, research has shown. The number of over 85s will increase by one third by 2020 putting extra burden on the NHS and social services, the study found. It could mean almost two [...]

Merry Christmas

The Department of Health and Ofcom have today announced that a new three-digit number (111) will be piloted in three regions next year. You might remember this idea from the Next Stage Review, High Quality Care for All: ‘…we should consider options to introduce a new three-digit telephone number to help people find the right local service [...]

Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham said “There are still huge challenges in the care and support system. The Green Paper sought people’s views on how we resolve those and create a sustainable system for the long term. In our view, those with the greatest needs cannot wait, and we cannot stand still in meeting [...]