Christmas doesn't have to be the loneliest time of the year
At a time when most of us are frantically looking for last-minute presents or trying to find a turkey, it can be easy to forget there are people for whom Christmas can be a very lonely, upsetting time.
20 December 2011
Your guide to: meeting minimum standards set by the CQC
Experts decode what the Care Quality Commission's 275-page document on meeting new standards means for residential and domiciliary care providers and adult placements
21 January 2011
Best practice in dementia care home staff training
While the overuse of antipsychotic drugs remains a problem in care homes, one provider has pioneered a person-centred approach that has cut drug use and distress levels. Natalie Valios reports on how staff can gain a better insight into dementia
22 April 2010
JRF pilots equity release scheme for cash poor homeowners
Older homeowners on benefits have long shunned equity release schemes but a project is helping them tap their housing wealth to boost their independence, writes Jeremy Dunning
28 January 2010
Importance of palliative role in dementia
Housing 21 has appointed a specialist palliative nurse to tackle the neglect of dementia patients' end-of-life needs. Vern Pitt finds she has personal reasons for making a success of her role
12 April 2011
Aspirations of older people living in residential care
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation offers a stern critique of current services and a blueprint for how older people can enjoy a better life, as Melanie Henwood found
05 August 2011
Rolling out personalisation to mental health service users
A project led by Mind to tackle the low take-up of self-directed support among mental health service users has returned some positive results, writes Jeremy Dunning
05 August 2011
Care funding commission chair denies government pressure
The chair of the commission on the funding of long-term care, Andrew Dilnot, tells Jeremy Dunning that the government has not pressurised him to deliver the most politically convenient outcome
20 August 2010
The blogger who is charting his life with Alzheimer's
Norman McNamara has made the brave decision to keep on blogging about his Alzheimer's, and how he copes with it, for as long as he is capable of doing so. Natalie Valios reports
03 August 2010
Joint working between health and social care in Herefordshire
Councils would be wise to look west when they draw up their plans to integrate health and social care services. As Jeremy Dunning reports, Herefordshire is already ahead of the game
10 August 2010
Still nothing to fear?
Disability minister Maria Miller tells Vern Pitt disabled people are a coalition priority despite astring of benefit cuts
23 July 2010
POPP: a look at the final report on Partnerships for Older People Projects
The National Evaluation of Partnerships for Older People Projects suggests nearly all are cost effective, while there was particular success with the provision of practical help, finds social care consultant Melanie Henwood
12 May 2010
Health White Paper poses questions for social care sector
Although there are positives for social workers in the health White Paper, there remain many questions about power and accountability, says Richard Humphries of the King's Fund
16 July 2010
How befriending services can aid older people's well-being
Martin Knapp and Margaret Perkins look at the findings of research into the importance of preventive work with older people
08 July 2010
Will more cash for research help lead to a cure for dementia?
With the coalition government committed to boosting dementia research funding, Vern Pitt looks at where increased resources could make a difference
05 July 2010
Concerns raised over wrongful detentions of service users
A mental health charity has raised concerns that people who lack mental capacity are being detained in care settings inappropriately.
24 June 2010
Can health and social care really work together?
A financial dispute seems to have killed off health and social care partnerships in Glasgow, but in next door East Renfrewshire integration is working well, finds Gordon Carson
14 June 2010
The impact of personalisation on adults' social workers
Personalisation is changing the face of social care, but research by Community Care and trade union Unison suggests bureaucracy and job changes mean it is yet to win the hearts and minds of social workers. Mithran Samuel reports
19 May 2010
Personalisation and the social care knowledge gap
More social workers understand the workings of personalisation than in 2008 but a big minority are still in the dark, writes Daniel Lombard
19 May 2010
Personalisation: Cuts threaten transformation agenda
While social workers fear personalisation may be at risk from impending government cuts, our survey finds the agenda is already facing pressures. Jeremy Dunning reports
19 May 2010
