Social Skirmishes

● The Scottish Daily Record ran a “Pensioners in booze and sex rampage at Dumfries care home” headline recently about drunken OAPs causing a commotion. An insider at the Burnfoot Coach House, near Dumfries, told the paper: “One OAP was offering other pensioners free sex, which alarmed the more vulnerable residents.” The police were called to arraign the vodka-sodden OAPs after staff failed to keep control.

Sounds exactly the sort of risk-taking attitude that the personalisation agenda should be encouraging.

● Ivan, Ivan wherefore art thou Ivan? The life of a minister is a hectic whirl of engagement after engagement, often being late through no fault of their own. So busy is care services minister Ivan Lewis that the organisers of the Excellence Network awards at Community Care LIVE allocated an extra 20 minutes in the schedule for him to be late, but he was still a bit tardy. He had a good excuse, as he had just rushed from a visit to Broadmoor Hospital, and then had to take a “comfort break” during the awards as he forgotten earlier. Ministers are so busy they forget to micturate – what heroes.

● Two aggressive delegates at CC LIVE faced the wrath of Community Care‘s own enforcers Amy Taylor and Natalie Valios. Ms Taylor’s attempts to calm the intimidating duo failed, so Ms Valios, braving the “Alex Ferguson hairdryer effect” and adopting her Madame Stern persona, had to ask them to leave the domestic violence session. The role playing session was actually the next day.

● CC LIVE saw social workers and service users tussle with the personalisation agenda’s effects on social work jobs and service user relationships. But disability consultant Simon Stevens united everyone, putting them at ease with his quip: “If the Conservatives get in, we’re all out of a job.” Nervous laughter everywhere.

E-mail your anecdotes to keith.sellick@rbi.co.uk