Welfare Reform on the Web (May 2000): Care of the Elderly - UK
CARE STANDARDS BILL: HOUSE OF LORDS COMMITTEE STAGE AMENDMENTS
Anon
Registered Homes and Services, vol.4, 2000, p.130-131
Lists House of Lords Committee Stage amendments to the Care Standards Bill, session 1999/2000.
COUNCIL LAUNCHES LEGAL BATTLE TO PREVENT CLOSURE OF ELDERLY CARE HOME IT SOLD IN 1996
K. McIntosh
Health Service Journal, vol.110, Feb. 10th 2000, p.6-7
Wandsworth Council is taking a firm of venture capitalists to court to try to prevent the closure of a home for the elderly sold off in 1996. If the home closes the council will have to find new homes for the 42 residents.
FORGET ME NOT
Audit Commission
Abingdon: Audit Commission Publications, 2000-03-27
Suggests that money is being wasted on institutional care for older people with dementia and depression when many could be better supported in the community. Effective joint working between health and social services is essential if people with dementia are to be supported in their own homes. Yet only one third of areas had the required level of co-operation, leaving many people with no option but to go into hospital. Spending on services varied widely across the country, so that in some areas people could choose from a range of flexible services including home care, respite and extended day care, while others faced severely limited options.
MANAGERS IN LONG-TERM CARE: THEIR QUALITY AND QUALITIES
M. L. Johnson, L. Cullen and D. Patsios
Bristol: Policy Press, 2000-03-27
Study of managers working in long-term care homes started with the premise that the greatest net gains in the quality of long term care would be made by improving the effectiveness and skill of staff. The poor outlook for the industry and limited budgets suggest that priority should be given to training managers.
NO ESCAPE FROM CHARGES
L. Clements
Community Care, no.1305, 2000, p.26
Where a person has disposed of savings, a house or any other assets in order to avoid residential care charges, the local authority is allowed to treat them as still retaining the value of these assets; this is known as notional capital.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIP
R. Lorimer
Registered Homes and Services, vol.4, 2000, p.136-138
Private sector organisations need to diversify their services in response to the trend towards Promoting Independence for the elderly. They should develop a broader range of services that are shorter and more episodic in nature and delivered in the clients own home.
QUALYS AND AGEISM: PHILOSOPHICAL THEORIES AND AGE WEIGHTING
A. Tsuchiya
Health Economics, vol.9, 2000, p.57-68
Paper examines six economic and/or philosophical justifications for rationing healthcare for the elderly and giving preference to younger patients. These are: two versions of the so-called fair innings argument, the fair innings weights, the Disability Adjusted Life Year age weighting, the biographical life-span and the prudential lifetime account.
QUALITY SERVICES FOR CARERS
P. Banks
Working with Older People, vol.4, Jan. 2000, p.22-24
Describes the key features of the proposed new national standards for carers support services. Stresses that although the standards have been drafted primarily for carer services, they will also apply to mainstream statutory services such as hospitals, GP, nursing, housing and homecare.
REASSURANCE GIVEN ON MEANS TESTING FOR RESIDENTIAL CARE
Anon
Caring Times, Feb. 2000, p.1
Promises have been given by government that NHS care in private residential homes will not be subject to similar means tests to in nursing homes. The fear is that residential care homes might find themselves classed as private hospitals, where nursing care is means tested rather than provided free by the NHS.
A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO ELDERLY CARE
D. Black, C. Bowman and M. Severs
British Journal of Health Care Management vol.6, 2000, p.49-52
The paper proposes a radical new whole system approach to improve effectiveness of elderly care delivery. At the moment two distinct systems provide health and social care of the elderly people. A single organisational structure with a single budget and single management to provide both health and social care would bring progress and improved services for the elderly.
UP TO THE MARK
L. Green
Community Care, no.1305, 2000, p.19
The future of the private care home industry hangs in the balance as it awaits the government's response to the consultation over national standards. A response is expected within months. It is clear that ministers have listened carefully to private sector protests about the costs of implementing the proposed standards.
A STEP BY STEP APPROACH TO FREE PERSONAL CARE
D. Le Grys
Working with Older People, vol.4, Jam. 2000, p.10-13
Argues the free personal care for older people could be implemented without costs running out of control. This could be done by:
- introduction of a new Pay as You Go scheme akin to National Insurance to fund long term care (LTC) for the current generation of elderly people;
- introduction of a fully funded scheme in which workers would make contributions to an LTC fund;
- introduction of various forms of private insurance.
TOWARDS 'HOLISTIC' HOME CARE
L. Bell
Working with Older People, vol.4, Jan. 2000, p.20-21
The Joint Initiative for Community Care (JICC) has been asked by the government to develop national standards for regulating providers of domiciliary care. Article describes how the standards will operate and the importance of staff development and training.