The commission set up this week to reform care funding must give as much weight to the needs of adults with lifelong conditions as they do to older people, one of its three members has said. In her first interview since her appointment, Jo Williams said people with lifelong conditions had particular funding needs due [...]

Private companies believe the shake-up of the NHS will lead to a big expansion of their currently small role, as many GPs will need their help to carry out their new role as commissioners of healthcare. Firms which already have small-scale involvement with family doctors are preparing to exploit the chance to gain an unprecedented foothold in [...]

People who suffer from depression could be at a much greater risk of developing dementia later in life, a study has revealed. Depression can significantly increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia later in life, the research suggests. The findings, from a US study, reinforce a perceived connection between depression and [...]

Leading domiciliary care providers’ representative, the United Kingdom Homecare Association, reacts to the emergency budget of the new Government as follows. While recognising that a 2.5% increase in VAT will affect many businesses, this additional cost is a double-blow for the UK’s homecare providers. Regulated care services are currently exempt from VAT, meaning that although customers are [...]

Earl Howe: My Lords, the Care Quality Commission is revising its current quality rating system for adult social care and is working closely with the adult social care sector to develop a more user-friendly system that provides people using services with the information they need to make decisions about their care. That is absolutely in [...]

Government efforts to reduce the numbers of dementia patients entering hospital will include the introduction of a fixed-fee tariff for providers of community care. The policy was announced by health minister Earl Howe last week in response to a question in the House of Lords, although details of how it would work are yet to be [...]

Care homes across England will struggle to meet increases in the costs of care for older people, putting the number of beds at risk, figures published today reveal. Market experts Laing and Buisson said fee rates had risen by 0.5% in England, compared with a rise in costs of 2.1% for homes, as local authorities pass [...]

Senior NHS managers have warned that the health service is facing its “greatest ever challenge” in maintaining quality services during the funding squeeze. With the health service in England having been told to find up to £20bn of savings by 2014, Nigel Edwards, acting head of the NHS Confederation, warned there was “no silver bullet” [...]

A study covering seven industrialised countries has shown the UK’s health care system as being the most efficient. The study covered the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and America and looked at the key performance areas of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and healthy lives. More than 27,000 patients and primary [...]