www.gscc.org.uk

Six
months after the General Social Care Council beamed into existence,
it has launched its new website, writes Graham Hopkins. The alien
language (all “rigorous regulatory regimes” and “sound corporate
governance”) and the Star Trek quality of its logo conjure up
warped thoughts of a five-year mission to seek out new social care
jargon while boldly splitting infinitives on the way. The “About
us” section is as brassy and upfront as the lime green colour
scheme but sadly dulled by the language – one objective is
“effective delivery of remit”. More strangely, the GSCC’s own
version of the 3 Rs (“Regulation, Registration, Recognition”) fails
the ‘Rithmetic by not realising that registration is an integral
part of regulation. Still “Recognition” might lead to
“Remuneration”, and all power to that. Like Star Trek, the GSCC has
its vision set on the future – its news, training and education
sections will have time and space to live long and prosper. And
just as the 1960s TV series became the awesome motion picture, the
council is also revving up for the bigger picture. Popcorn
included. We’re promised the site will enable 1.2 million care
workers to register, and be used to make the register public. And
that’s an enterprise worth saluting.

www.mind.org.uk  

If you
haven’t looked at the Mind website recently, then do take the time
to do so – it has improved considerably, writes Bob Sapey. I recall
this being a bit of a disappointment in the past, consisting mainly
of addresses and links, but it now has a large range of online
materials about different mental health conditions, as well as an
excellent bookshop with summaries of each item.