Care Home News
Nature films reduce anxiety in people in early stages of dementia
23 Dec 2015
Nature films have been found to lessen anxiety in people in the early stages of dementia and reduce symptoms of sundowning, according to a new study. When the sun starts to go down at the end of the day,.....
Care home provider promises to make residents' wishes come true
23 Dec 2015
Hallmark Care Homes has pledged to make a wish come true for least one resident in every one of its 16 homes. Over a thousand residents are taking part in the competition Lucky Star in which they make a wish.....
Alzheimer's charity launches arcade-style game to raise awareness of dementia
21 Dec 2015
Alzheimer’s Research UK has recently launched a cross-platform game designed to help people understand the biology of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Amyloids – named after a harmful protein involved in.....
Care worker to spend first Christmas Day in 12 years with her family
21 Dec 2015
Care worker Sue Ferry, who works at in Northfleet, has spent the last 12 Christmases working at the care home. But this year, she has decided to spend it with her family. “My daughter has requested.....
Anxiety 'increases risk' of developing dementia
21 Dec 2015
People who experience high anxiety are one and a half times more likely to develop dementia, according to a new study led by University Southern Californian (USC) researchers. Although previous research has.....
HenPower participants pen festive hit in celebration of another successful year of reducing loneliness
18 Dec 2015
People participating in an innovative hen keeping project designed to tackle loneliness in older people have lent their voices and talents to an original Christmas song. Older people’s charity Equal Arts.....
Health Secretary launches inquiry over woman 'bitten by a rat' in sheltered housing
18 Dec 2015
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is launching an investigation into claims a bed-ridden 75-year-old woman was bitten by a rat in council-run sheltered housing. Patricia Hudson, who died three months after the.....
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. How should a care home give it to get it?
18 Dec 2015
Care home staff don’t usually spend their day off taking residents shopping for a cardigan at M&S but that’s what one worker did to bring a smile to a woman’s face. Frying up a last minute bacon sandwich when you’ve just completed.....
Innovative portable technology provides care workers with unique reminiscence materials at their fingertips
18 Dec 2015
The care sector is under constant pressure to adapt to the rapidly growing demands of the UK’s ageing population, with care homes trying to introduce smart technology and online resources to both staff and residents to improve and.....
Government creates new nursing support role to deliver 'hands on compassionate care'
17 Dec 2015
Health Minister Ben Gummer has announced a plan to create a new nursing support role to bridge the gap between care workers with a care certificate and registered nurses. The nursing associate role could.....
Singing in choirs and helping children read helps maintain older people's mental wellbeing
17 Dec 2015
Improving the mental wellbeing of older people can benefit families and communities as well as reducing or avoiding the need for health and social care, according to new guidance from NICE. Health watchdog,.....
Care home set to unveil new dementia suite
17 Dec 2015
St Georges Park Nursing Home, part of the Rotherwood Healthcare Group, is continuing its investment in the local area, with the imminent opening of a specialised dementia suite as part of a newly refurbished wing of its residential home. The.....
Care homes of the future could see technology take a leading role in the delivery of care
17 Dec 2015
The UK is struggling to cope with the demands of a rapidly ageing population with increasingly complex needs. This is exacerbated by a lack of suitable, adapted homes for them to live in. However by harnessing assistive technology.....
Doctors urged to give patients a 'good death' with personalised plans
16 Dec 2015
Advice has been drawn up to help health and social care workers deliver ‘a good death’ for dying patients. The guidelines from NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommend personalised plans for the dying.....
Actress and mother of Emma Thompson reveals unique challenges of caring for someone with dementia
15 Dec 2015
Actress and mother of Emma and Sophie Thompson, Phyllida Law, has spoken of the challenges she faced when caring for her mother with dementia. Ms Law, who spoke out to publicise a report by Alzheimer's.....
Care homes to host a happy Christmas for lonesome elderly
14 Dec 2015
Care homes are throwing open their doors to give lonely, older people in the local community a happy Christmas. Contrary to the nativity story of ‘No room at the inn’, The Beeches Care Home in Stockton-on-Tees,.....
No care home 'should be without a singing group for people with dementia'
11 Dec 2015
There is a growing body of research showing the huge impact that music and singing can have on people with dementia. With this in mind, Diana Kerr, former course director for the MSc in Dementia Studies.....
London café to open its doors to the elderly on Christmas Day
11 Dec 2015
A North London cafe will open its doors on Christmas Day to provide free Christmas lunches to older people, who would otherwise spend the Day completely alone. The Haberdashery is situated on the High Street.....
Concerns raised over CQC's 'alarming lack of attention to detail'
11 Dec 2015
The Committee of Public Accounts has raised concerns over the performance and ability of the independent care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), to regulate health and care services. In its twelfth.....
Moderate drinking reduces the risk of death in people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease
11 Dec 2015
Research conducted by the Danish Alzheimer's Intervention Study has proved a link between moderate alcohol consumption and a reduced risk of death in people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in the journal.....
Scientists discover molecule that could help to clear Alzheimer's brain proteins in mice
10 Dec 2015
Research has revealed that a new chemical could help to break down some forms of amyloid beta protein deposits in the brains of mice. Amyloid beta is a toxic molecule found to build up to form plaques in.....
Happy women do not live longer than those who are unhappy
10 Dec 2015
Women who live happy lives are no longer thought to live longer than those who are unhappy, a study published in The Lancet has revealed. The study of more than one million UK women, showed that happiness.....
Elderly occupied more than a third of England's hospital beds last winter
10 Dec 2015
Just 3.6 per cent of patients, most of them older and frail, took up more than a third of the bed capacity in England’s hospitals last year, the Nuffield Trust reveals today. The health charity's analysis.....
Care sector calls for crisis talks following Spending Review
09 Dec 2015
Four agencies representing care providers and commissioners across the health and social care sector have requested urgent crisis talks with the Treasury and Whitehall Departments, following a growing crisis in the care of older people.....
Care providers advised to start preparing for the new National Living Wage
09 Dec 2015
The Government is urging care providers along with other businesses in the UK to take simple steps now to prepare for the introduction of the new National Living Wage in April 2016. The new wage will become.....
Negative thoughts about ageing can trigger dementia
08 Dec 2015
People who think negatively about growing old are more likely to suffer brain changes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, say academics at Yale. 'I think, therefore I am’ the famous words of Descartes, is born.....
Gogglebox stars join Age UK's campaign to combat rising loneliness at Christmas
07 Dec 2015
Gogglebox favourites June and Leon Bernicoff are starring in an Age UK advert to help combat loneliness during the festive season. It marks the next stage of the charity’s http://www.carehome.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1571993/Dame-Judy-Dench-backs-Age-UKs-campaign-to-prevent-heart-breaking-loneliness-at-Christmas|‘No.....
Mother of autistic son told to 'watch Rain Man' and warned he will 'be institutionalised'
04 Dec 2015
When her son was four, Hazel Davies was informed he had severe autism and was told by a medical specialist “Go home and watch Rain Man. In all probability your son will be institutionalised”. However Ms.....
Dreaming of a dementia friendly White Christmas
03 Dec 2015
How do you make a theatre performance dementia friendly? Ask someone with dementia. That’s what Nicky Taylor at West Yorkshire Playhouse did to create the award-winning play White Christmas, which has attracted a new audience of theatre-goers......
Charities invite the elderly to 'come dine with them' this Christmas
03 Dec 2015
Organisations such as charity and care provider Abbeyfield, the Royal Voluntary Service and Friends of the Elderly are encouraging care homes and other organisations to host events and share food this Christmas, inviting in isolated.....