Category: Community Care- Adults
Demand for care has risen in the first part of the year, with further rises predicted, despite capacity for certain services remaining below pre-pandemic levels, an Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) survey has found. The latest ADASS stocktake on the impact of Covid, answered by 91 of the 152 directors in March […]
By Professor Chris Hatton, Manchester Metropolitan University It is 10 years since an undercover Panorama programme reported on the horrendous abuse of people with learning disabilities and autistic people by staff members at an independent sector ‘specialist’ inpatient unit, Winterbourne View. The programme triggered a series of investigations, government reports and policies, and attempts to […]
By Jack Skinner and Claire Webster Ten years ago, BBC Panorama exposed the horrific abuse that staff at Winterbourne View hospital had inflicted on people with learning disabilities who were supposed to be receiving assessment, treatment and rehabilitation. A police investigation lead to 11 criminal convictions, a national outcry and a formal government response on […]
Approved mental health professionals have started a new role supporting people in crisis access respite from their debts, amid ongoing concerns over AMHP workloads. Under the new breathing space scheme, AMHPs are tasked with certifying that people are receiving a mental health crisis service, which is a necessary condition of accessing the mental health aspect […]
By Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner The Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which became law last month, marks a significant step forwards and should transform our response to domestic abuse, which affected 2.3m people in England and Wales in 2019-20. All social workers should be familiar with the new legislation, but certain aspects of the act […]
By Grant Dalton, Institute for Government The social care systems of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland provide different levels of care. The proportion of older people who receive care at home or in a care home in Northern Ireland is nearly double the proportion in England, and all three devolved governments spend more per […]
Story updated Demand for adult social care in England has gone up as council-funded provision has fallen and personalisation has gone into reverse, a report had found. The King’s Fund’s latest ‘Social care 360’ analysis found that councils received 120,000 more requests for support in 2019-20 than 2015-16, but provided short or longer-term support to an […]
Care workers who help disabled people access sexual services are not breaking the law, the Court of Protection has ruled. In a judgment last month, court vice-president Mr Justice Hayden said that a care plan to facilitate a man’s contact with a sex worker would not be contrary to section 39 of the Sexual Offences […]
A woman was caused “significant stress” by a three-year wait for her son’s return home due to an “unreasonable and avoidable delay” caused by council failings. That was the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s verdict on Sheffield council’s handling of the request by the woman, Mrs A, for her son, Mr Y, to return home […]
Story updated 30 April 2021 Adult social care referrals have spiked since November 2020, the incoming president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has warned. Three-quarters of directors have reported a rise in hospital discharge referrals, 70% a hike in requests for help for people with mental health problems, 57% a […]