Tuesday 18th May 2010
Dear Members,
After the daily updates that we began in April, issues around re registration seem to have calmed down a little and I thought it is time I got back to my blog and kept you updated with all the other things that are going on with the social care agenda as well as with the Care Quality Commission.
First of all I guess there is the general election. The Coalition has appointed the Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow to be the Minister of State responsible for Social Care.
The Minister is someone we have got to know well since he was elected to Parliament in 1997. He has always taken a close interest in Social Care so we hope that we will be able to work with him in the coming months and years to ensure that Social Care is recognised to be as essential as Health Care.
Thanks Sheila
National Care Association Logo
Friday, May 21, 2010
20th May 2010
Dear Member,
I think most of you will know by now that Paul Burstow,the Liberal Democrat MP has been appointed the Minister of State for Social Care in the Department of Health.
National Care Association has known Paul since he was first elected to Parliament in 1997. Since then he has taken a very close interest in Social Care and although we haven't agreed on everything we have always worked together.
I am please to tell you that I when I answered my mobile at twenty minutes to nine last evening it was Paul Burstow calling to say that he was looking forward to working with National Care Association in the future and outlining some of his thoughts, we spoke for more than 4 minutes.
We are all delighted to have had that early contact with him and are writing to ask him to speak at our annual conference in October.
Dear Member,
I think most of you will know by now that Paul Burstow,the Liberal Democrat MP has been appointed the Minister of State for Social Care in the Department of Health.
National Care Association has known Paul since he was first elected to Parliament in 1997. Since then he has taken a very close interest in Social Care and although we haven't agreed on everything we have always worked together.
I am please to tell you that I when I answered my mobile at twenty minutes to nine last evening it was Paul Burstow calling to say that he was looking forward to working with National Care Association in the future and outlining some of his thoughts, we spoke for more than 4 minutes.
We are all delighted to have had that early contact with him and are writing to ask him to speak at our annual conference in October.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
CQC re-registration
I am very concerned, as I am sure you are, that we still have no definitive information about the Care Quality Commission re-registration process due to commence on 1 April and close at the end of September.
I have just spoken to one of our solicitors, Jeremy Allin, and after discussion I have asked him to write me a briefing paper setting out the position regarding re registration from a legal point of view.
He has agreed to do this and I expect to have the letter by Friday at the latest and I will get it out to you as soon as I receive it.
I have just spoken to one of our solicitors, Jeremy Allin, and after discussion I have asked him to write me a briefing paper setting out the position regarding re registration from a legal point of view.
He has agreed to do this and I expect to have the letter by Friday at the latest and I will get it out to you as soon as I receive it.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
17 December.
I leave today to spend Christmas with my family. I want to take this chance to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
If you need to contact us over the holiday period please call the office and the answer phone will direct you to the on call number.
I leave today to spend Christmas with my family. I want to take this chance to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
If you need to contact us over the holiday period please call the office and the answer phone will direct you to the on call number.
Get Connected and Care First Careers
16 December 2009
Today I have been at a meeting of the Get Connected Reference Group at SCIE. The Get Connected Project is a huge opportunity for care providers to receive grants to help with getting both service users and their families connected to the internet and also to connect staff to e training. For further information please visit the SCIE website:
http://www.scie.org.uk/workforce/getconnected/index.asp
Care First Careers
The Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions are working together with employers to help them get the talent they need in the adult social care sector.
A new scheme, Care First Careers is launching nationally at the end of January following a pilot programme in four Jobcentre Plus districts; South Tyne and Wear Valley, Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, Coventry and Warwickshire and South West Wales.
Under Care First Careers, employers in the adult social care sector will be encouraged to take on young jobseekers by receiving a £1500 subsidy for every 18-24 year old that they employ who has been receiving Jobseekers Allowance for more than 6 months. This is part of DWP’s Young Person’s Guarantee that promises from early 2010, everyone in between the ages of 18 and 24 who has been looking for work for a year will get an offer of a job, work experience or training lasting at least 6 months.
The scheme is administered by Jobcentre Plus whose front line advisors will be primed to promote adult social care as a key route into work for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds.
To support the introduction of Care First Careers a series of 11 regional launch events will take place in January and February across England, Scotland, and Wales, where adult social care employers from each region will be invited to learn more about employing young people and encouraged to participate in the scheme.
Care First Careers aims to stimulate wider interest in adult social care and attract a younger and more diverse workforce, with talent being spotted early on and helped to develop. Nurturing the potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers can lead to more sustainable employment and help grow the workforce of the future.
Employers can visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/carefirstcareers to find out more about Care First Careers and how to get the subsidy.
Today I have been at a meeting of the Get Connected Reference Group at SCIE. The Get Connected Project is a huge opportunity for care providers to receive grants to help with getting both service users and their families connected to the internet and also to connect staff to e training. For further information please visit the SCIE website:
http://www.scie.org.uk/workforce/getconnected/index.asp
Care First Careers
The Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions are working together with employers to help them get the talent they need in the adult social care sector.
A new scheme, Care First Careers is launching nationally at the end of January following a pilot programme in four Jobcentre Plus districts; South Tyne and Wear Valley, Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, Coventry and Warwickshire and South West Wales.
Under Care First Careers, employers in the adult social care sector will be encouraged to take on young jobseekers by receiving a £1500 subsidy for every 18-24 year old that they employ who has been receiving Jobseekers Allowance for more than 6 months. This is part of DWP’s Young Person’s Guarantee that promises from early 2010, everyone in between the ages of 18 and 24 who has been looking for work for a year will get an offer of a job, work experience or training lasting at least 6 months.
The scheme is administered by Jobcentre Plus whose front line advisors will be primed to promote adult social care as a key route into work for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds.
To support the introduction of Care First Careers a series of 11 regional launch events will take place in January and February across England, Scotland, and Wales, where adult social care employers from each region will be invited to learn more about employing young people and encouraged to participate in the scheme.
Care First Careers aims to stimulate wider interest in adult social care and attract a younger and more diverse workforce, with talent being spotted early on and helped to develop. Nurturing the potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers can lead to more sustainable employment and help grow the workforce of the future.
Employers can visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/carefirstcareers to find out more about Care First Careers and how to get the subsidy.
BBC Documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes?
11 December
Well this has been another busy week.
On 8 December 2009 the Care Quality Commission published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. (i.e. to replace National Minimum Standards). These documents are going to take us several days to read and comprehend fully. You can access the documents at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35743&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
That evening there was a programme on BBC2 called “Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?” I am only too aware of how much this programme upset so many of our members. It is not acceptable to have a programme made about some of the most frail and most vulnerable which is light entertainment.
The next morning I was stunned to find on the Care Quality Commission’s website a press release entitled BBC documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes? and with the opening line:
The Care Quality Commission helped the BBC in the preparation of this evening’s programme on BBC2 (9pm), Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes? We provided statistics and background information:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35745&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
I cannot believe this press release. What were they thinking about?
It is just another concern about their practice that is chipping away at our confidence in them as the regulator.
Nadra has written to the Minister about this and I have written to senior Civil Servants.
Well this has been another busy week.
On 8 December 2009 the Care Quality Commission published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. (i.e. to replace National Minimum Standards). These documents are going to take us several days to read and comprehend fully. You can access the documents at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35743&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
That evening there was a programme on BBC2 called “Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?” I am only too aware of how much this programme upset so many of our members. It is not acceptable to have a programme made about some of the most frail and most vulnerable which is light entertainment.
The next morning I was stunned to find on the Care Quality Commission’s website a press release entitled BBC documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes? and with the opening line:
The Care Quality Commission helped the BBC in the preparation of this evening’s programme on BBC2 (9pm), Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes? We provided statistics and background information:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35745&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
I cannot believe this press release. What were they thinking about?
It is just another concern about their practice that is chipping away at our confidence in them as the regulator.
Nadra has written to the Minister about this and I have written to senior Civil Servants.
Strategy Days and CQC
4 December 2009
This has been another very busy week for us all but nothing I suspect compared to all of you as you prepare for Christmas in your businesses.
We held a two day Board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday where the Board planned the direction of the organisation for the coming year. There are obvious areas that we will be concentrating on particularly around the implementation of the re-registration of all care provision with the Care Quality Commission and the implementation of the new regulations and the accompanying compliance guidance also to be implemented next year.
We also intend to do a significant amount of work in the Learning Disability field (more about that in the first week of January).
On the Wednesday evening Barclays Bank very kindly hosted a reception for us at their head office in Docklands. This was a very happy evening with guests from National Care Association, some of our members and some distinguished guests from legal circles, SCIE, Skills for Care etc.
On Thursday evening I attended the Skills for Care Accolades event in central London. This was another very happy event with care providers from across the sectors rewarded for their commitment to training and the workforce. I was very pleased to see several of our members represented at the event.
There was a great deal of talk at the event about what was going on with the Care Quality Commission and what impact the criticism that they were receiving would have on the morale of the sector.
I went off to Leeds the next morning to deliver a speech about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. On the train on the way back I met a very senior official from the Department of Health and was able to have a bit of a moan to him about the uncertainty in the sector about the Care Quality Commission.
By Saturday morning it was announced by the Care Quality Commission that Baroness Young was to step down as Chairman of CQC (nothing to do with me!)
I hope that this will give the Care Quality Commission some breathing space.
This has been another very busy week for us all but nothing I suspect compared to all of you as you prepare for Christmas in your businesses.
We held a two day Board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday where the Board planned the direction of the organisation for the coming year. There are obvious areas that we will be concentrating on particularly around the implementation of the re-registration of all care provision with the Care Quality Commission and the implementation of the new regulations and the accompanying compliance guidance also to be implemented next year.
We also intend to do a significant amount of work in the Learning Disability field (more about that in the first week of January).
On the Wednesday evening Barclays Bank very kindly hosted a reception for us at their head office in Docklands. This was a very happy evening with guests from National Care Association, some of our members and some distinguished guests from legal circles, SCIE, Skills for Care etc.
On Thursday evening I attended the Skills for Care Accolades event in central London. This was another very happy event with care providers from across the sectors rewarded for their commitment to training and the workforce. I was very pleased to see several of our members represented at the event.
There was a great deal of talk at the event about what was going on with the Care Quality Commission and what impact the criticism that they were receiving would have on the morale of the sector.
I went off to Leeds the next morning to deliver a speech about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. On the train on the way back I met a very senior official from the Department of Health and was able to have a bit of a moan to him about the uncertainty in the sector about the Care Quality Commission.
By Saturday morning it was announced by the Care Quality Commission that Baroness Young was to step down as Chairman of CQC (nothing to do with me!)
I hope that this will give the Care Quality Commission some breathing space.
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