Articles by Date : June 01 2004 - June 30 2004

Prisons inspector highlights over-use of restraint cells
The chief inspector of prisons has slammed the use of special cells at Styal prison in an inspection report which revealed how a number of women were.... more
(12 June 2004 08:00)

Monday 14 June 2004
NHS ‘in danger’ of failing health of Britain’s 6m carers Most asylum seekers ‘come to UK because lives are in danger’ more
(14 June 2004 10:51)

Stalker who targeted social workers faces life sentence
A man who subjected social workers, health professionals and councillors to a seven-year campaign of hate crimes because he believed they were.... more
(11 June 2004 17:03)

Charity welcomes move to stop paedophiles using internet chat rooms
Leading children’s charity NCH has welcomed plans to monitor internet chat rooms to identify paedophiles who are using them to groom children, .... more
(11 June 2004 14:56)

Care homes take Bury Council to the High Court over fees
A recent court case is likely to lead to further legal challenges to local authority policies on fee rates paid to independent care homes. This will.... more
(11 June 2004 12:58)

Electronic referrals cut delayed hospital discharges by two thirds
A pioneering electronic referral system in Cheshire has slashed delayed hospital discharges by more than two thirds and enabled a seamless move to.... more
(11 June 2004 12:35)

Vulnerable parents get £11 million support from the Scottish Executive
First minister Jack McConnell launched a new parenting education project this week aimed at reducing the likelihood of children of vulnerable parents.... more
(11 June 2004 11:48)

Friday 11 June 2004
Sham marriages soar as illegal immigrants try to beat curbs Call to fine parents of class yobs more
(11 June 2004 10:38)

Suspicious minds
Mental health is, in theory, one of the government's top health priorities. Yet professionals and service users remain dissatisfied with the speed of.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

The big question
Antisocial behaviour orders. Overdue or over the top? more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

The new big fish
Will the proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights be able to deliver or will it be just another talking shop? Anabel Unity Sale asks the.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

So how was it for you?
Two years ago we interviewed five final year students who were about to embark on a career in social care. Louise Tickle finds out how they have.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

The final reckoning
In this week's guide to navigating social services finances without budgetary shipwreck, Paul Cook enters the dangerous waters of closing the.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

If you ask me...
Jane Campbell, chairperson of the Social Care Institute of Excellence and a wheelchair user. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

The Simon Heng Column - A service user's view of social care
Are direct payments a means to greater independence or a route to a life of more worries? more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

The thrill of being old
Retirement and old age have made little difference to Florence Lyons' zest for life and commitment. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Civic bodies must confront racism
Failure of local councils to challenge anti-asylum seeker campaigns encourages xenophobia, says Les Gibbons. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Brain to blame for kevin the teenager
New findings on brain growth could lead to a more forgiving view of teenage behaviour. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

One size fits all?
Rolling up all equality organisations into one super-commission could produce a truly liberating force - but only if the unified body puts mentally.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Snowed under and stressed out, social workers send in the sicknotes
Sick with stress, social care staff take a worrying amount of time off work. Shirley Kumar reports on how some councils are launching stress-busting.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Alarm bells ring in the staffroom over drive to reduce exclusions
Dealing with unruly behaviour at school rather than by exclusion is key to reducing students' risk of offending, says the government. But teachers.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

'GPs are ignoring dual diagnosis'
People who have a physical impairment and a mental health problem are often overlooked by policy makers and commissioners of services, new findings.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Scots to update charities law
Measures to update and strengthen Scottish charity law were unveiled by the Scottish executive last week. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Man can only use NHS in emergency
The first NHS-wide antisocial behaviour order has been obtained by York Council. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

New settings lure experienced staff
Recruitment problems in mental health are being exacerbated in social services departments and acute hospitals by the departure of many highly.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

US Seroxat challenge prompts fresh calls for review of drugs regulation
The mental health charity Mind has repeated calls for a review of the relationship between pharmaceutical firms and drug regulators after a leading.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Short care breaks hit by lack of funds
Short foster care breaks for children from families under pressure have not been implemented due to lack of funding and staff turnover, says a report. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Exam target slips for looked-after children
The National Children's Bureau has backed a Local Government Association call for schools to be given a statutory duty to promote the educational.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Scottish social work complaints review
Social work complaints procedures are to be examined by the Scottish executive, according to the Scottish public service ombudsman Alice Brown. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Better standards for temporary housing
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is to revise its homelessness guidance to include more stringent standards for housing homeless families in.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Thursday 10 June 2004
Prostitutes not given tolerance zones Immigration could be six times higher than official figure more
(10 June 2004 09:50)

Charities deride mayoral candidates over lack of child welfare policies
A coalition of children's charities challenged London's mayoral candidates last week to show their commitment to child welfare and protection ahead.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Rules force carers to shun registration
Less than a third of the 5,000 adult placement carers in England are registered with regulators, a new report reveals. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Held appointed to care council post
Former Camden social services director Jane Held has become interim director of regulation at the General Social Care Council. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Health department 'should steer bill'
Liberal Democrats are supporting calls for a revised mental health bill driven by the Department of Health and not the Home Office. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Many front-line staff lack support and training at work, survey reveals
Nearly half of front-line workers and their managers think they are inadequately supported and trained, and more than half would fear for their job.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Recruitment fears over matron scheme
Plans to recruit 3,000 "community matrons" to look after people with multiple long-term conditions could be undermined by a lack of qualified nursing.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

A suck it and see approach to crime
Lollipops are to be distributed to people leaving nightclubs in Basingstoke to try to deter them from antisocial behaviour. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Plan to reward training wins vote
Visitors to Community Care 's website voted four to one in favour of financial rewards for social carers to retrain and multi-skill as part of a.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Upheaval at Ealing as Leadbetter quits
Mike Leadbetter has quit his job as interim director of Ealing social services - the fourth senior manager to leave the council in the past six.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Reforms may see Connexions' demise
Connexions partnerships could be phased out under children's services reforms, a leading figure in the voluntary sector has warned. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Scope attacked for focusing on care
Cerebral palsy charity Scope has been criticised for failing to support capacity building among disabled people. more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

NHS creating post-code lottery for patients with dementia, says charity
People with Alzheimer's still face barriers to accessing anti-dementia drugs - despite their endorsement by the National Institute for Clinical.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Lords want rethink on appeal time limit
The government suffered a setback in its reform of the asylum and immigration system this week when the Lords voted to increase the time for.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

GP registration moving too slowly
The government has failed to achieve its target for people with learning difficulties to be registered with a GP by June 2004, as set out in the .... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Douglas to head up guardians' body
Anthony Douglas, social services director at Suffolk Council, has been appointed chief executive of the Children and Family Court Advisory and.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Paediatrician faces being struck off
A paediatrician involved in the case of Sally Clark, who was cleared of killing her two sons in January 2003, appeared before the General Medical.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Care proceedings reviews set to leave social services out of pocket
The legal bills involved in carrying out reviews of cases of children taken into care on the basis of disputed medical evidence are set to cost.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Let's prescribe honesty
Four years after the NHS created the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), its effectiveness in disseminating clinical best practice has.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)

Health should pay too
How come social services are left to pick up the tab for the costly review of cases where children were taken into care on the basis of disputed.... more
(10 June 2004 00:00)