Kate Bleasdale – Executive Vice Chairman, Healthcare Locums (HCL)

The UK’s growing and ageing population is going to have a massive impact on the way healthcare staffing is managed and the issues should be raised sooner rather than later
Nineteen years ago I wrote my Master’s thesis on what I and others call the UK’s ‘demographic [...]

Following the transfer, which took place on 1 October, NHS PASA’s professional services, temporary staffing and audit function has been integrated into Buying Solutions’ existing professional services category.
To ensure a smooth transition for existing PASA customers and suppliers, a helpdesk has been set up to deal with any enquiries. The number is (0118) 980 8841, [...]

A national initiative, designed to promote best practice and improve quality of life for people living and working in care homes, has been launched with the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust.

My Home Life, a charitable venture supported by the recently merged Age Concern and Help the Aged, City University London and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, aims to [...]

The government is using face-transforming software to encourage the public to have their say on its proposals for a radical reform of the care system. People using the online software application will be encouraged to comment on the government’s plans for a National Care Service and other changes to the care system. These include changes to [...]

As promised in Building Britain’s Future, this Green Paper sets out the Government’s proposals for ways to reform the care and support system for adults in England.
We need to respond to the challenges that it will face in the future, to build a new National Care Service for everybody.
During 2008, the Government ran a six-month [...]

The Big Care Debate

On the subject of social care and providing feedback, the Big Care Debate continues. You can visit their website here, and there’s a new section of the site which enables you to upload a photo and see what you might look like when you get older. The Big Care Debate is, of course, in large part [...]

The NHS will need to significantly increase its use of flexible staffing if a public sector spending cut leads to a significant reduction in headcount among permanent frontline staff, according to healthcare recruiter HCL. Consultants McKinsey and Company has advised the Department of Health that the NHS in England would need to cut its workforce by [...]

Our NHS, Our Future

Everyone agrees that the NHS is going to have to save money – David Nicholson, for instance, speaks about saving £15-20bn between 2011 and 2014, largely through efficiency measures. The question isn’t about whether we need to make savings then, but how.
Quality, of course, is one way to achieve this: by improving [...]

Do people get happier as they age, as one study today suggests, or do happy people just live longer?
Speaking from the view of 54, I feel more at peace and, yes, happier, than I did 20 or 30 years ago. I know my kids agonize over small things, and understand most things are small things.
Keeping everything bottled [...]

Today, The Times picks up, on the hundreds of complaints received in the wake of the report yeaterday, Catherine Bleasley writes that whilst Ian Birrell again writes in The Independent about the urgent need for reform. The comments attached to yesterday’s Telegraph story are the spur for another report in the paper today, and make for no happier [...]

If you know anyone who is looking for a full time job; live’s in Southport; is precise; good at admin including Microsoft office; has manners; is magnetic; can speak and think at the same time
We need staff in our offices. Get them to call me (Les) on 07739 701 702.

Watchdog warns councils to prepare for long-term impact of downturn on mental health and children’s services
Demand for mental health and children’s services will continue to rise as the longer-term effects of the recession and unemployment become evident, the Audit Commission has warned.
Around a third of councils in England have already seen higher demand for mental [...]