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According to research conducted by ResPublica in association with Four Seasons Health Care, HC-One and GMB by 2020/21 there will be a gap in funding of elderly residential care of £1 billion which is equivalent to the loss of 37,000 privately provided residential care beds. The anticipated shortfall in the number of care home beds …

Financial viability of residential care sector under increasing pressure Read More »

Acute trusts have reported 92% of trusts have failed to meet their own staffing levels in the day with 81% of trusts failing to meet their own staffing levels in the night. Set against the backdrop of the low availability of nurses and expensive agency nursing staff these figures paint a picture of hospitals in …

Nurse staffing levels fall short of hospital’s own targets Read More »

The final version of the new Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (“Regulations”), otherwise known as the Fundamental Standards, has been published this week. The Regulations are due to come into force for all providers on 1 April 2015.  The Regulations replace the 2010 regulations and introduce the new Fundamental Standards …

Final Regulated Activities Regulations published Read More »

NICE has today published guidance on providing effective care to older people with a number of long-term conditions. Issues can arise when caring for individuals with a variety of care needs and the overarching theme is one of more joined-up, person-centred care. The guidance directs health and social care practitioners to consider obtaining a risk …

New guidelines published on care provision for older people with long term conditions Read More »

In a consultation announced today CQC sets out its proposals for an increase in fees to providers to cover the cost of the regulator carrying out its duties. CQC welcomes responses to the consultation on fees and the impact they will have on providers. The main proposal put forward in the consultation document relates to …

CQC looks to balance the books Read More »

The NHS has announced that the number of hospital beds for people with learning disabilities and autism will be halved in England. This has arisen in response to the abuse scandal at Winterbourne View and will see more patients “live in homes, not hospitals”. As part of the new plans the largest disability hospital, Calderstones, …

Learning disability care to shift to community care Read More »

Jeremy Hunt is to announce today that local healthcare groups will be awarded ratings from next June onwards. It is hoped that this will highlight those local groups that are failing to meet standards and ‘shock’ them into improving by public pressure. The plan to award these ratings is in its early stages of development …

Clinical Commissioning Groups set to be rated Read More »

CQC have to be prepared to operate within tighter economic constraints and has been asked to absorb between 25 and 40 per cent costs savings for its 2016-17 inspection programme. In the most recent CQC board meeting David Behan, Chief Executive of CQC postponed discussions in relation to the budgeting until after the 25 November …

CQC braced for budget cuts Read More »

Research published earlier this month by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked The UK as the best place to die in the world; London may have the unenviable title of being the worst place to die in the UK. A report conducted by London Cancer Alliance PallE8 and Marie Curie found that only 3/10 of London …

It was the best of times it was the worst of times- The worst place to die in the UK- London? Read More »

Britain’s growing elderly population is in need of additional purpose built retirement housing to meet the needs of the increased demographic according to research conducted by property firm Savills. The over 65’s are scheduled to increase in number annually by 2% and the over 75’s by 3.2%. This would result in the need for an …

More retirement housing stock needed for ageing population Read More »