Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Providing better outcomes for older people in a new era of austerity is one of the great challenges facing social care businesses in the years ahead. Jennifer Roberts looks at potential ways forward for independent providers THERE’S no doubt about it. Social care providers are entering a period of great uncertainty – perhaps the most [...]

by Jennifer Roberts www.caringforyourbusiness.co.uk IT WOULD appear that everywhere we look a transformation of one kind or another is taking place. Change can be positive and sometimes very necessary to help us improve, achieve and become creative. But it can also make us feel insecure and uncomfortable whilst we try to make sense of the [...]

A new scheme to help small companies, charities and voluntary organisations compete for billions of pounds worth of contracts has been unveiled by the Coalition Government. It has announced a number of key measures to prevent small business owners and organisations being shut out of procurement processes because of excessive bureaucracy and petty regulation. They [...]

THE postcode lottery of care in Wales could be ended under radical plans announced by the country’s Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas. About £1.4 billion a year is spent in the country on supporting 150,000 young, old and disabled people. Reforms, outlined in Sustainable Social Services for Wales: A Framework for Action include [...]

By Jenny Roberts Channel 4’s Dispatches special – Secret NHS Diaries, February 28 – made very uncomfortable viewing on so many levels. The programme followed three people who were on their final journey in life. Each one was experiencing their last days in different environments: a hospital, in their own home and in a residential [...]

It’s interesting to note that a new scheme to achieve excellence in social care – announced by the Care Quality Commission today – will not be compulsory. The Coalition Government is considering introducing ‘payment by results’ in its Vision for Adult Care to reward the very best in care services. In other words, those providing excellent [...]

By Paul Roberts There are justifiable fears over the future of the personalisation of care in England with councils cutting social care budgets to the bone. The Coalition Government plans to put one million eligible service users on Personal Budgets by 2013 as part of its Vision for Adult Care. But with many local authorities [...]

By Paul Roberts I LIVE in a tiny community in Scotland with a population of just 14. We don’t live in each other’s pockets. In fact we keep ourselves to ourselves. But we all know each other and provide help when it’s needed or asked for. We occasionally assist our neighbours with shopping, collecting medication [...]

THE shocking lack of care for many people with dementia in Britain is exposed in a major new survey carried out by the Alzheimer’s Society. It reveals that a quarter of a million people with dementia are being let down by care and support that fails to meet their needs. The sub-standard care means that [...]

DEMENTIA Timeout, the new Scotland-based social enterprise has been awarded £4,000 by the Millennium Awards Trust. The award is managed by Scot UnLtd, the charity that supports social entrepreneurs in turning their ideas into reality. Jennifer Roberts, co-founder of Dementia Timeout, said: ‘We are thrilled to receive this important financial support in Scotland. It is [...]