Fighting Monsters - Member blogs - Social Work Blog

Choice, Control and Obfuscation – How the Personalisation Dream is Dying

In the bold move towards a transformation in adult social care, it feels from where I sit, that control has completely overtaken any pretence of ‘choice’ in the so-called move towards more idealised ‘person-centred’ care and support planning. I hope I...

Published 12 Sep 2011 7:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: burstow, carer, carers, dementia, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, elderly, health, local authority, local government, mental health, Mental Health Foundation, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, ras, resource allocation system, social care, social issues, social work, socialcare, the small places, work
Perspectives, Students and Ageing

I enjoy having students around. It helps keep me fresh and enthusiastic and to see my job through the eyes of someone coming into it rather than through the occasionally blurred eyes of someone who has been working for a while. I had a student shadowing...

Published 26 Aug 2011 7:21 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: elderly, getting old, old age, older people, personal, shadowing, shadowing a social worker, social care, social work, social worker, Student, work
Social Work and the March to Neoliberalism (or Personalisation gone bad)

I caught this article a few days ago on the Huffington Post by a Social Work academic, trying to explain away another aspect of the riots and cashing in on his status no doubt as an ‘authority’. I don’t have much time for the body of the article. He starts...

Published 18 Aug 2011 6:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: direct payments, Disability, elderly, Employment, health, local government, neoliberal social work, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, professor jonathan parker, social care, social issues, social work, social workers, work
Goodbye Southern Cross, Hello Open Public Services

So Southern Cross – the largest private care home provider in the UK will be closed. What of the 31,000 residents who live in their properties? Well, the government has given us its assurance that they will be ok so that’s alright then. Or not. m kasahara...

Published 12 Jul 2011 7:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: big society, care, Care Quality Commission, david cameron, Department of Health, elderly, GMB (trade union), government, health, local authority, long-term care, nursing home, old age, older people, open public services white paper, opswp, personal, politics, Public services, social care, social work, Southern Cross, Southern Cross Healthcare Group, uk, uk government, White paper, work
Elaine McDonald, Kensington and Chelsea and Dignity

Yesterday, the High Court ruled in the case of R (on the application of McDonald) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This was a further appeal by McDonald against a previous decision at a lower court. Elaine McDonald is 68 year old woman who worked...

Published 7 Jul 2011 6:32 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Age Discrimination, ageism, agism, dignity in care, discrimination, elaine macdonald, elaine mcdonald, elderly, health, Home Care, kensington, local government, mcdonald v kensington and chelsea, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, philosophy, politics, r v royal borough of kensington and chelsea, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, social care, social issues, social work, socialcare, work
Initial thoughts on the Dilnot Report on Funding of Care and Support

Scheduling and exhaustion meant I didn’t have time to look at the Dilnot proposals in detail yesterday so this morning I have fired up my browser and am going to make a few initial comments on the baseline main recommendations and hopefully over the next...

Published 5 Jul 2011 7:08 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Andrew Dilnot, british politics, care and funding, carer, carers, dementia, dillnot report, dilnot report, dilnot report on funding of care and support, dilnott report, Disability, elderly, Funding, funding of care, health, local authority, long-term care, Means test, mental health, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social work, socialcare, work
Waiting for Dilnot

The Dilnot Commission on Care Funding and Support is due to report back to the government on Monday 4th July. At Arbitrary Constant there is some useful background reading about the Green and White Papers which were published by the previous government...

Published 29 Jun 2011 7:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Andrew Dilnot, care and support, dilnot commission, dilnot report, Disability, elderly, Funding, funding of care, Guardian, health, Home Care, local authority, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social work, White paper, work
Personal Budgets, Personalisation, Thoughts and Hopes

Yesterday Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) published the results of a National Personal Budget Survey. The headline ‘results’ are of course overwhelmingly positive. Personal Budgets work. Direct Payments Are Good. Everyone is happy. jrambow@flickr Is any...

Published 23 Jun 2011 7:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: budget, carer, carers, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, elderly, health, Home Care, local authority, local government, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, politics, social care, social work, socialcare, work
Mrs J and the Mystery Bristol Care Home

There is a story on the Community Care website this morning about an ombudsman’s report relating a woman, Mrs J, who was placed in a care home in Bristol. lovestruck@flickr This was a care home which was not only rated ‘poor’ or had no stars under the...

Published 21 Jun 2011 6:34 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: bristol, care homes in bristol, Care Quality Commission, carer, Commission for Social Care Inspection, csci, dementia, elderly, Home Care, local government, Local Government Ombudsman, long-term care, mental health, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social work, Standard of care, work
Human Rights, Home Care, Personal Budgets and Cost Saving

I read on the BBC website among others that there is a report suggesting that care provided in the home by local authorities to older adults may be overlooking human rights issues. Daniel2005@flickr An inquiry into this was initiated by the Equality and...

Published 20 Jun 2011 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, carers, dementia, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, ehrc, elderly, elderly home care, equality and human rights commission, government, health, Home Care, home care and human rights, Human Right, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights of older adults, individual budgets, local authority, local government, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, personalisation, report into home care, social care, social work, work
Safeguarding Adults Awareness Week

I learnt from my Twitter stream (thanks to Lindsay_Pike) that as well as being Carers’ Week, this week is also ‘Safeguarding Adults Awareness Week’. I had never come across this as a ‘week’ before so used my carefully honed research skills to type ‘Safeguarding...

Published 17 Jun 2011 6:54 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Abuse, Adult, adult protection, caregiver, carer, dementia, Disability, elderly, local authority, personal, philosophy, Safeguard, safeguarding, safeguarding adults, safeguarding adults awareness week, social care, social issues, work
Distractions and Uncertainty

Of Local Distractions I met one of the hospital social workers earlier this week. We don’t actually catch up with each other very often but when we do we always make a point of hanging around in whatever corridor we bump into each other in and chat. This...

Published 9 Jun 2011 6:54 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Burgess Park, Care Quality Commission, cqc, Disability, elderly, Inspection, local authority, london, long-term care, National Health Service, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social work, Southern Cross, southern cross healthcare, Tower Bridge, work
CQC and Southern Cross – a retrospective

I’ve bemoaned both the changes in the CQC and the financial troubles of Southern Cross over the last few years since I started writing this blog. For today, a bit of a ‘lazy post’ – I thought I’d collate all the posts that I’d made on those two subjects...

Published 7 Jun 2011 6:58 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Barbara Young, Care Quality Commission, cqc, csci, elderly, health and social care, links, long-term care, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, social work, social work links, Southern Cross, Southern Cross Healthcare Group, work
What makes a good care worker?

I haven’t been able to shake off the Panorama programme about the abusive care environment at Winterbourne View. We spent quite a lot of time talking about it at work yesterday as well, at meetings and in the office. It has pushed my mind back to the...

Published 2 Jun 2011 7:11 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Abuse, Care Quality Commission, care work, care worker, carer, carers, cqc, Disability, elderly, health, institutional abuse, local authority, long-term care, management in residential care, old age, older people, panorama, paul burstow, personal, residential care, social care, social work, support worker, winterbourne view, work
Personalisation and Professional Disillusionment

Yesterday, Community Care published the result of a survey they had undertaken about ‘personalisation’ among social care professionals. The headline figures while wholly unsurprising, make for interesting reading where only 41% of respondents felt...

Published 26 May 2011 7:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: budget, burstow, care in the community, carer, direct payments, discrimination, elderly, implementation of personalisation, individual budgets, local authority, local government, old age, older people, paul burstow, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, personalisation, personalisation agenda, Personalization, social care, social work, uk, work
Are Beans more valuable than People? – Or A Day at Community Care Live 2011

Yesterday I went to the C0mmunity Care Live conference. It is an annual event put on by Community Care Magazine and runs across two days. Being one of the very few free events (and excellent – free isnt the ONLY reason I go but it does help!), I...

Published 20 May 2011 6:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: caregiver, carer, carers, dementia, direct payments, elderly, health, MCA, mental health, Mental Health Foundation, miranda wixon, old age, older people, personal, peter beresford, social care, social issues, Social media, social work, think local act personal, work
Means Testing and Social Care Funding

Community Care reports that Dilnot who is chairing the latest in a long, long line of consultations into care funding has heard overwhelming opposition to retaining the £23,000 savings threshold before people have to start paying towards their social...

Published 18 May 2011 7:03 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Andrew Dilnot, andrew lansley, dilnot commission, elderly, long-term care, Means test, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social care funding, social work, work
Care Home Crises

I have been following with interest the fortunes, or rather, misfortunes of Southern Cross. Southern Cross is the largest care home provider in the UK. It owns 750 residential and nursing homes throughout the country and cares for 31,000 residents. I...

Published 16 May 2011 6:41 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, elderly, local authority, long-term care, old age, older people, personal, social work, work
Law Commission Report on Adult Social Care – some thoughts

I’ve not had much time to look through the Law Commission Report into the proposed changed in Adult Social Care Law but to say it’s been long needed is an understatement. Adult Social Care Law is a hotch-potch and a mess. A couple of weeks ago, I was...

Published 12 May 2011 7:21 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adult social care, british social work, carer, carers, direct payments, direct payments for residential care, elderly, health, Law Commission, law commission report on adult social care, local government, mental health, national assistance act, national assistance act 1948, old age, older people, politics, social care, social care law, social work, Statute, uk, work
Personal Budgets in Practice

Recently, I’ve been working with a service user and his carer (daughter) to put together a support plan or rather two support plans – one for him and one for his daughter . The two live together and without his daughter’s presence, there is no doubt at...

Published 6 May 2011 7:06 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: budget, caregiver, carer, carers, carers allowance, carer's direct payment, carers personal budget, dementia, direct payment, direct payments, elderly, health, Home Care, individual budget, local authority, local government, old age, personal, personal budget, social care, social issues, social work, uk, work
Consumerism, Advocacy and Older Adults Services

I read a blog post on the Community Care website this morning about the need for social workers to ‘challenge consumerism in social care’ and particularly in care for older adults. Generally, I agree with much of that written. Since I qualified as a social...

Published 4 May 2011 7:31 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: andrew harding, bournemouth university, choice and care, dr steven keen, elderly, health, local authority, old age, older adults, older people, personal, politics, professor keith brown, social care, social work, social work advocacy, social work with older adults, work
Eligibility, Birmingham and Cuts

While awaiting the details of the court judgement, there was an important ruling yesterday that Birmingham Council’s attempt to limit eligibility to social care services to those who have ‘critical’ care needs is unlawful. Drawing out some of the definitions...

Published 21 Apr 2011 6:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: BBC, Birmingham City Council, Disability, discrimination, elderly, England, learning disability, local authority, local government, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal care, politics, respite care, social care, social issues, social services, social work, social worker, socialcare, uk, United Kingdom, work
Which Care? What Care?

Another day, another story of sub-standard care in residential homes in the UK. Today, the Guardian publish a story which relates to a Which? investigation It explains some of the way the survey was conducted In the most extreme case, … Continue...

Published 19 Apr 2011 7:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: care homes, Care Quality Commission, cynthia bower, cynthia bowers, dementia, elderly, health, Home Care, Jo Williams, local authority, long-term care, mental health, Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, NHS strategic health authority, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social issues, social services, social work, Stafford Hospital, uk, which investigation, Which?, work
Negligence and Care – Kersal Mount Care Home

A nursing home in Sheffield, Kersal Mount, yesterday admitted it was negligent in the treatment of a Doreen Betts, 78, who was left to suffer with with pressure sores for three months and who eventually died of an infection caused … Continue reading...

Published 15 Apr 2011 6:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Bedsore, Care Quality Commission, cqc, dementia, doreen betts, elderly, health, Inspection, kersal mount care home, local authority, neglect in care home, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, Sheffield, sheffield residential home, social care, social work, socialcare, Standard of care, the laurels and the limes care home, work
Whistleblowing

Earlier this week, Community Care picked up on a report from Public Concern at Work which related directly to whistleblowing in the care sector. It makes for chilling reading and displays the problems which are inherent in adult social care. … Continue...

Published 7 Apr 2011 6:15 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Disability, elderly, health, learning disability, local authority, mental health, old age, older people, personal budget, social care, social issues, social work, work
The State of Healthcare and Adult Social Care in England – a brief glance and thoughts

Yesterday the CQC published their report ‘The State of Healthcare and Adult Social Care in England’. I have to try and put my criticisms of the CQC and their increasingly lax regulatory process to one side, although I couldn’t help … Continue reading...

Published 30 Mar 2011 7:11 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Care Quality Commission, cqc, cqc report, Disability, elderly, health, health and social care, local authority, long-term care, mental health act 1983, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, politics, Public services, social care, social issues, social work, state of healthcare in england, state of social care in england, work
Inspections and the CQC

I was interested to see that Mark Easton in his BBC blog, touched on the issue of residential care and the confusion in the regulatory system. He talks about a man, Dave, who needed to place his mother in a … Continue reading → Read More....

Published 11 Mar 2011 6:42 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adult social care, BBC, care home inspections, Care of residents, Care Quality Commission, elderly, HealthWatch, imcompetence of inspections, local authority, local government, long-term care, Mark Easton, mental health, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social issues, social work, work
Meanwhile in the Office..

Usually when I’ve mentioned workloads here, it’s because they are increasing or we are going through one of the ‘peaks’ in the general ‘peak or trough’ pattern of work balances. I’m going to do it again because we are definitely … Continue reading...

Published 9 Mar 2011 6:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Best Interests Assessor, budget, dementia, Disability, elderly, emergency, health, local authority, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, respite care, social care, social issues, social work, social work uk, work, workplace support
Personalisation in Mental Health and Older Adult Services

Personalisation is a very broad brush term to describe the so-called ‘transformation’ agenda in adult social care. In very general terms it refers to the process of moving from resource-led to needs-led systems of service provision (just as the NHS …...

Published 4 Mar 2011 6:09 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adult social care, budget, care provision, dementia, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, elderly, health, ilf, individual budget, individual budgets, learning disability, local authority, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, personalisation, politics, putting people first, sds, self-directed support, social care, social issues, social work, Support group, work
To Say Goodbye

The best kind of ‘goodbyes’ are the planned ones. We can discuss with someone a couple of visits before their discharge from the service about how they might be supported on discharge and we have already, by this stage, put … Continue reading →...

Published 3 Mar 2011 6:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Death, elderly, health, personal, social work, work
Excellence Ratings for Care Homes

Yesterday, the government announced the unveiling of a new ‘gold standard’ or excellence rating for care homes. This is supposed to address some of the poor care that is delivered through local authority funded care. I have my doubts. Not … Continue...

Published 1 Mar 2011 6:48 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: care homes, Care of residents, Care Quality Commission, cqc, cynthia bower, elderly, excellence ratings for care homes, excellence standards, gold standards for care homes, government, health, health and social care, incompetence of cqc, Independent, local authority, long-term care, nursing care, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, residential care, social care, social issues, social work, work
Bullying

Bullying – it’s a very loaded word. As adults we’ve been through the school experiences where, if we didn’t experience it and weren’t perpetrators, we’d probably know people who were in one or the other camp. School is just a … Continue reading...

Published 25 Feb 2011 6:30 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Adult, Behavior, Bullying, bullying in residential care, care homes, community, community building, dementia care, discrimination, elderly, health, long-term care, nursing homes, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, social work, socialcare, Violence and Abuse, work
When Old Age Meets Teenage – Review

Generally, I tend not to watch anything that might be deemed to be ‘work-related’ but last night I sat down to watch ‘When Old Age Meets Teenage’ on BBC2 (available here on the iPlayer). It’s only the first of a … Continue reading → Read More...

Published 22 Feb 2011 6:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Age UK, bbc2 programme, care home, Care of residents, Disability, elderly, Generations and Age Groups, intergenerational work, long-term care, nursing home, old age, older people, People, personal, social care, social issues, social work, when old age meets teenage, whiteley village, work
Scrutiny, CQC and ADASS

Yesterday, I read on the Community Care website that ADASS (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.. and Housing Departments or whatever else they direct these days) are seeking a meeting with the CQC (Care Quality Commission) about ‘a new...

Published 15 Feb 2011 6:44 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adass, Care Quality Commission, cqc, Disability, elderly, health, local authority, local government, National Health Service, nhs, old age, older people, outcome measurement, personal, personal budget, politics, Quality assurance, social care, social issues, social work, transparency in outcomes, work
Cuts – a personal tale

A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those deeply depressing moments that will generally punctuate a career in social care. I had to go and tell a woman, who cares for her mother with enormous patience and dignity, … Continue reading → Read...

Published 28 Jan 2011 6:56 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: budget, caregiver, carer, carers, cuts, dementia, direct payments, Disability, elderly, evil tories, family, health, individual budget, local authority, london, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, personal care, personalisation, politics, respite care, sds, self-directed support, social care, social issues, social work, work
Johann Hari’s manifesto for change in care homes

A week or so ago, Johann Hari, a journalist and columnist for the Independent, wrote an article about his grandmother and the poor to verging on abusive care pathway that she experienced through devastatingly shoddy system that was and is … Continue...

Published 26 Jan 2011 5:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Alzheimer's Society, Care Quality Commission, cqc, cynthia bower, dementia, elderly, health, Home Care, Johann Hari, local authority, long-term care, mental health, nursing home, old age, older people, paul burstow, personal, politics, social care, social issues, social work, the independent, work
Rising Admission Rates

Yesterday, via Twitter, I was alerted to the publication of the ‘Mental Health Bulletin – Fourth Report from Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMD) returns 2010’. I know it’s a bit of a mouthful but briefly, it means statistics about admission, …...

Published 12 Jan 2011 6:06 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, ASW, Best Interests Assessor, discrimination, elderly, England, health, MCA, Mental disorder, mental health, mental health act 2007, mental health act assessment, mental health statistics, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social issues, social work, work
Hospital Discharges or the Lack of Them

I’ve written a few times about some of the difficulties about managing and organising discharges from hospital so forgive me for reiterating previously presented points but I couldn’t resist because there’s an article about it in The Guardian who...

Published 5 Jan 2011 6:35 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: andrew lansley, bed blocking, delayed discharges, dementia, Disability, elderly, Home Care, local authority, local government, long-term care, mental health, National Health Service, nhs, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social issues, social work, work
Christmas and Depression

It’s distinctly emptier in our office this week. I don’t think it’s necessarily the snow – although that hasn’t helped with some of the time-keeping – it’s just a very popular time for annual leave. Next week will be similarly … Continue reading...

Published 22 Dec 2010 5:27 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Christianity, Christmas, depression, depression at christmas, elderly, health, Holidays, local authority, mental health, old age, older people, Opinions, personal, Religion and Spirituality, Religious, social care, social issues, social work, work
The Complainant

It was never going to be a visit I was looking forward to. While our manager no longer sidles up to us and drops a physical paper file on our desks by way of allocation, she now sends emails with … Continue reading → Read More...

Published 13 Dec 2010 7:26 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, approved mental health professional, carer, carers, Complaint, dementia, elderly, health, local authority, local government, mental health, old age, older people, personal, social care, social work, work

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