Engaging the public on how to improve residential care
Care homes are being asked to invite the public into their premises to discuss what makes residential care and how services can be improved, in a month-long campaign.
24 May 2012
CQC 'asked Lansley to sack whistleblowing board member'
Health secretary Andrew Lansley was asked to remove CQC board member Kay Sheldon after she gave highly critical evidence about the regulator's leadership, a Labour peer has alleged.
23 May 2012
Half of learning disability services not meeting core standards
Half of the learning disability services inspected by the Care Quality Commission in the wake of Winterbourne View are not meeting essential standards on safeguarding residents and caring for them. The CQC said the findings were a cause for concern.
18 May 2012
Social care managers committed yet undervalued, finds poll
Registered managers are highly committed to their roles but most do not feel valued, a National Skills Academy for Social Care survey has found.
04 May 2012
Care home managers 'must not be hidden behind office door'
Residential care managers must provide visible leadership for staff and residents, rather than be "hidden behind an office door", to ensure good practice, says a guide to the role published by the Social Care Association.
10 April 2012
How to check whether your services are good enough
Providers must ensure their internal compliance mechanisms go beyond checklists to avoid poor practice, says consultant and former Care Quality Commission inspector Sughra Nazir.
27 March 2012
Care providers challenged to stop bidding for low-fee tenders
Care providers should cease bidding for council contracts at prices they feel are too low to deliver the specified service, incoming Association of Directors of Adult Social Services president Sarah Pickup has said.
20 April 2012
Invest in social care to revive economy, government told
Boosting investment in social care through tax breaks and incentives to start up new providers could help revive the economy's flagging fortunes, the government was told today.
02 May 2012
Private equity firm buys up UK's biggest care home provider
A private equity firm has bought up the country's biggest care home provider, Four Seasons Health Care, in a move that will "significantly reduce" the company's £780m debt burden.
30 April 2012
Home care services face unannounced inspections
The Care Quality Commission started its three-month programme of unannounced inspections of 250 home care providers this week, which is designed to garner much more information from service users than previous probes of domiciliary agencies.
26 April 2012
Ex-CQC inspector arrested over alleged provider bribery
A former Care Quality Commission inspector was arrested today on suspicion of pressurising care providers to pay for favourable inspection reports.
26 April 2012
Care workers facing pay cuts stage protest outside council
Care workers at a charity that supports adults with learning difficulties in Lancashire are holding a demonstration outside the council today after being told they could face pay cuts.
20 April 2012
Concerns for social care as council job cuts accelerate
Concerns have been raised over the future of the adult social care system after it was revealed that councils in England and Wales sliced £1.4 billion from their annual pay bill in 2011-12, largely by reducing staff numbers.
24 April 2012
Social care staff gain professional body to represent them
Social care workers in Wales will have a professional body to represent them with the announcement today of the launch of the Academy of Care Practitioners.
20 April 2012
Care managers polled on working lives and support needs
The National Skills Academy for Social Care wants to hear from registered managers about the issues they face and their support needs.
17 April 2012
Missed and rushed care visits place elderly at risk
An investigation by Which? has found that older people are being put at serious risk from missed and rushed home care visits.
16 March 2012
Hospital visits lower for care home than home care clients
Care home residents are less likely to end up in hospital than users of intensive home care, research has revealed. (Image: Alamy)
29 March 2012
CQC: Personalisation lacking in Winterbourne-style services
Many learning disability hospitals and care homes are failing to provide person-centred care, the Care Quality Commission has found in its national review triggered by the Winterbourne View case.
08 February 2012
Personalisation central to social care management standards
Personalisation should be at the heart of good management in social care according to revised management induction standards launched today by Skills for Care.
07 March 2012
Good leadership key to high-quality social care, says sector
Ninety four per cent of people working in adult social care link the quality of leadership to the quality of care, a National Skills Academy survey has found.
10 April 2012
