NHS Direct Closes. What do you Think? Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced the plan to close down NHS Direct in England. As the BBC reported: NHS Direct currently employs more than 3,000 staff, 40% of whom are trained nurses. It is understood the ratio on the 1-1-1 helpline is slightly less in the pilot, [...]

Recruiters, employers and healthcare workers have welcomed plans for the introduction of a ‘skills passport’. A one-year pilot project was conducted among nursing staff at seven English NHS Trusts during 2009/10 seeking to test ‘proof of concept’ for the passport which allows workers to create a verified online record of their skills, qualifications and experience. [...]

The Department of Health (DH) has relaxed its position on the use of Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) Certificates, effectively introducing a limited system of “portability” for care services regulated by CQC. This new approach applies in services provided to adults (but not children) in England and allows employers – under certain circumstances – to accept [...]

The Department of Health (DoH) has announced its intention to explore options with the private sector for potential investment in NHS Professionals (NHSP) – the organisation that was initially set up as an in-house provider of flexible staff within the NHS. Underlining the significance of the announcement, Tom Hadley, the REC’s Director of External Relations [...]

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 [...]

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. Health Minister – Earl Howe 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 [...]

As the Lib-Con coalition announces the launch of a commission on long-term adult care funding, Vern Pitt reminds the government of the gaps and a social worker, a service user and a care home manager call for action The funding of long-term care in England will be considered by a commission, reporting within a year, [...]

Can workforce development meet a care home residents’ future care needs? This study examines the best way of meeting the future needs of older care home residents. Exploring evidence from an in-depth study of three residential homes, it confirms that training care staff in basic clinical skills can enhance health and social care provision for [...]

Over 90% of care service providers met the deadline for registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in its first round of registrations, it has revealed. The finding follows concerns that providers would struggle to meet deadlines after the CQC admitted it had made administrative errors with the process that delayed some providers in receiving notification [...]

This Venn diagram pulls together the health policies of both parties’ manifestos pre-election, letting us see the similarities and differences that could affect future health care policy. The policies in the intersecting centre are ones that are shared by both parties. The policies that sit on the dividing lines around the centre reveal policies that are [...]

The REC has responded to the announcement on out-of-hours care by the new Health Secretary Andrew Lansley by underlining the crucial role played by locum doctors and other temporary staff within the NHS. According to the plans outlined by the Health Secretary, family doctors will be forced to take back responsibility for out-of-hours care, although [...]

Social work experts are welcoming the appointment of Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow as the new care services minister. The Sutton and Cheam MP is being described as a useful counterpoint to the Conservative health secretary Andrew Lansley, given Burstow’s understanding of and interest in social care. However, questions are being raised over whether his appointment will [...]