NHS criticised over mental health patient’s death under restraint

NHS criticised over mental health patient’s death under restraint 
The NHS was blamed yesterday for the death of a mental health patient who was held face down on the floor of a Portsmouth hospital for 25 minutes until he turned blue and stopped breathing.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 8

Ethnic minority workers ‘face double level of bullying’
People from ethnic minorities are almost twice as likely to be bullied in the workplace as white employees, according to a report. A survey which focused on three NHS trusts, one police force and a central government department says that 25% of ethnic minority workers have to put up with abuse at work, compared with 13% of white employees. They were also more likely to be ignored, given repeated reminders or persistently criticised by managers or colleagues.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 8

Chancellor charity
Gordon Brown will set out a vision of active citizenship to rival that of David Cameron as he outlines his goal of a youth charity with one million volunteers.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 2

Under supervision but free to commit the gravest crimes
One in five of the most high risk and dangerous offenders under supervision in the community broke the terms of their freedom or committed a further serious violent offence, according to figures published yesterday.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 4

Tories plan housing revolution to cater for rising elderly population
Fewer small flats and more bungalows and houses with gardens should be built to make it easier for elderly people to avoid going into care, the Conservatives said yesterday.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 7

Grandparent carers to be paid £12,000 a year, says Cameron
Grandparents could be paid more than £12,000 a year to look after their grandchildren under plans being considered by the Conservatives.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 7

Mother who killed baby walks free from court
A single mother who killed her baby in a fire and falsely claimed it had been started by intruders today walked free from court.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 23

Paedophile agrees to school gym ban
A paedophile who was allowed to use a gym in a school has agreed to stay away, following protests from parents.
Andrew Baldwin, who was convicted of abusing three girls aged 12 and 13 in 1999, had not been banned from the council-run gym because of fears this would breach his human rights.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 10

Cash would let patients choose care
Patients with chronic conditions would be given individual budgets worth thousands of pounds to manage their own care, under plans to be put to Tony Blair’s new public services policy group.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 25

Break a bylaw and face £100 instant fine 
Parish councils are to be given sweeping new powers to deliver instant justice.
Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 5

New checks on faith teaching
Schools in England will have to ensure that lessons about different faiths are being taught in their classrooms.
Source:- The Times, Tuesday 24 October 2006, page 2

Scottish news

Watched for life: sex attacker faces new sentence
A violent sex offender has made legal history by becoming the first person in the UK to be assessed for a new kind of sentence that will last the rest of his life.
Colin Ross is now on the verge of being subject to intensive supervision while in jail and after his eventual release for the attempted murder of an American tourist in an attack which has left her in a coma.
The new order for lifelong restriction is unique to Scotland and was introduced in June. It requires local authorities to put together a strict programme of rehabilitation and monitoring, which would be reassessed regularly.
Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 24 October 2006

100 seek damages over ‘abuse’ by nuns
One hundred victims of alleged abuse by nuns at Catholic children’s homes in Scotland between 1960 and 1980s are to seek criminal injuries compensation.
The former residents of Nazareth House started giving evidence this week at hearings held by the criminal injuries compensation appeals panel in Glasgow.
Earlier this year, some of the victims were awarded state compensation totalling more than £60,000. The awards were made to 18 former residents at orphanages run by the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of Nazareth in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.
Source:- The Scotsman, Tuesday 24 October 2006

Welsh news

No social care stories today.