Care Home News
Exclusive: Jeremy Hunt lost in thought over whether he can beat Boris
27 Jun 2019
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt appeared lost in thought and took time to reflect, when he was asked by carehome.co.uk if he could defeat Boris Johnson to become Britain’s next Prime Minister. Speaking in Westminster,.....
Free personal care like Scotland? Minister says people in England must 'expect to contribute to care'
27 Jun 2019
People may need help washing, dressing or going to the toilet, but unlike in Scotland (where such personal care is free), people needing support in England should continue to “expect to contribute to their care”, a minister has said......
Councils confirm thousands are suffering as home care providers hand back contracts
27 Jun 2019
Nearly 80 councils have seen home care providers close in the last six months impacting on over 7,000 people, according to new research. This figure is more than double the number affected last year. The.....
Care homes' football barber enables dementia residents to reminisce over 'fitbaw'
26 Jun 2019
When football barber Martin Murphy visits care homes in Edinburgh, he transforms their hair salons into a barber's pop up shop, festooned with football scarves and old programmes, where male residents can reminisce about 'fitbaw'......
National campaign launched to 'bridge the gap' between young and old by learning poetry
26 Jun 2019
BBC Radio 4 presenter Gyles Brandreth is launching a national campaign to prove how powerful poetry can be when it comes to bringing different age groups together. The ‘Just a Minute’ presenter is urging.....
Care badge is launched to celebrate care workers
26 Jun 2019
The valuable work done by staff working in the care sector is being celebrated by a new CARE badge which has been launched today. Care providers are being encouraged to buy the badges, which cost £1, for.....
Care home residents are among twelve dead from deadly infection in Essex
25 Jun 2019
Twelve people in Essex have died from a rare contagious bacterial strain, with most of them said to be elderly, with some of them living in care homes. In total, 32 people across Essex have been infected.....
Exclusive: Care Minister Caroline Dinenage tells care homes 'loneliness is everyone's business'
24 Jun 2019
Loneliness affects people in all walks of life but can have a significant impact on some of our most vulnerable citizens, says Care Minister Caroline Dinenage as she shares her thoughts on what care homes can do to tackle loneliness.....
CQC tells care home managers to improve dental health care for residents
24 Jun 2019
The CQC have told care homes they need to make sure residents are receiving proper oral health care after a report has revealed half of all care home staff have not received the required training on it. In.....
Summer Solstice: Care home residents celebrate with rain sticks and Tibetan singing bowl
21 Jun 2019
While thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge to welcome in the longest day of the year, residents at a care home in Middlesbrough held their own celebration with a gong and a Tibetan singing bowl. Residents.....
Care home staff wear pyjamas so dementia residents know it's bedtime
21 Jun 2019
Care workers at a care home in Cumbria wear pyjamas and dressing gowns at night to remind residents with dementia, who get disorientated, that it is bedtime. The care home, which is in the village of Allithwaite.....
Schoolboy, aged 10, vows to keep visiting 90-year-old veteran in care home
20 Jun 2019
Ten-year-old schoolboy Kian Donnelly has been having so much fun striking up conversations with an army veteran during his weekly visits to a care home, he has promised their eight-decade age gap won’t keep them apart. Whether.....
Outstanding London care home which welcomes pets praised for 'extending' resident's life
20 Jun 2019
A care home in the London borough of Bexley, rated ‘outstanding’ by the care watchdog, has been praised by a relative for ‘extending’ a resident’s life. Groveland Park Care Home in Bexleyheath has raised.....
Overnight care workers forced to sleep in offices and told 'bring your own bedding'
18 Jun 2019
Care staff who work night shifts are regularly bedding down in offices, on dirty mattresses, or pretty much anywhere they can find to sleep for the night, according to a new report by a care workers' union......
MPs question care minister over CQC results finding four fifths of care homes 'good' or 'outstanding'
18 Jun 2019
Care minister Caroline Dinenage has praised care staff for helping four out of five care homes become ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ but MPs have questioned the accuracy of results. Figures published by the.....
Care home hands control of business to staff giving them 'security' and 'a voice'
18 Jun 2019
Middleton Hall, a retirement village in Darlington, is now fully employee owned, with staff saying “employee ownership makes us feel valued as we are all co-owners of the business”. It is the first care home.....
PM debate: Jeremy Hunt and Rory Stewart vow to 'sort' out 'unfinished' social care
17 Jun 2019
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and fellow PM hopeful Rory Stewart have both promised to make social care their top priority if they become Britain’s next Prime Minister. Jeremy Hunt:.....
People with 'invisible' disabilities can now apply for blue badge parking permits
17 Jun 2019
People with ‘invisible’ disabilities including dementia will soon be able to access blue badge parking permits, thanks to the rollout of new government guidance. The new guidance will offer a lifeline for.....
Back in the closet: Third of care home staff have had no LGBT+ awareness training
14 Jun 2019
There is thought to be around a million people over the age of 55 who identify as LGBT+, yet a new poll shows a lot more needs to be done to make care homes inclusive, with over a third of staff having had no LGBT awareness training......
Britain's oldest person 112-year-old 'Amazing Grace' dies
14 Jun 2019
Grace Jones, Britain's oldest person, has died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 112-years-old. Having lived through 26 Prime Ministers and two world wars, the woman they called 'Amazing Grace' had.....
Care minister confirms DoLs replacement date
13 Jun 2019
The care minister Caroline Dinenage has confirmed in a letter to MPs that Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) will replace the current Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLs) from 1 October 2020. The Mental.....
Care minister announces £5m fund for innovative projects like carer-friendly cafes
13 Jun 2019
Care minister Caroline Dinenage has announced more ‘carer-friendly’ communities can be delivered, thanks to a £5m Carers Innovation Fund set up to improve unpaid carers’ lives. Charities, small business.....
TV show on restaurant staffed by people with dementia combats misconception they are 'on the scrap heap'
12 Jun 2019
Inspired by a real-life Japanese pop-up restaurant that opened in Tokyo last year, Channel 4's The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes follows Michelin-starred chef Josh Eggleton as he opens a pop-up restaurant staffed by 14 people living.....
PM candidates on social care: Rory Stewart calls fixing care an 'unfinished revolution'
11 Jun 2019
As the 10-strong Tory race for the next Prime Minister gets underway with much talk about Brexit, candidate Rory Stewart has said the “great unfinished revolution” of sorting out social care is overdue. 'Great.....
Charity boss: More money for dementia care could stop £400m 'badly spent' on avoidable hospital visits
10 Jun 2019
The chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society wants £2.4 billion made available for dementia care to stop £400 million a year being “badly spent” by the NHS on “avoidable hospital admissions”. People.....
Exclusive: Council boss on Panorama criticises Hancock for 'never talking' about 'phenomenal impact' of social care
07 Jun 2019
Stephen Chandler, social care chief at Somerset County Council who appeared in the recent Panorama programme ‘Crisis in Care’, told homecare.co.uk that health secretary Matt Hancock needs to stop valuing NHS staff more than care workers. He.....
Care home group bans 'unnecessary plastic' from its care homes
06 Jun 2019
A South Coast care home group is cutting down on the amount of single-use plastic in its homes - removing a million items of plastic from the workplace by returning to the use of traditional glass milk bottles, swapping plastic bin.....
Royal British Legion ensures D-Day war veterans join Queen and Donald Trump
05 Jun 2019
Some 300 war veterans stood with the Queen, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Their.....
Most MPs including Tories agree social care crisis is making people suffer
05 Jun 2019
Over three quarters of MPs including most Conservatives (58 per cent) agree there is a social care crisis, with the majority believing people in their constituencies are now suffering because of care cuts. The.....
School children play bingo with elderly to help close generational gap
04 Jun 2019
Children from a local high school have been visiting elderly people at a retirement complex in Buckhaven in Scotland - volunteering their time to take part in a wide range of activities, from playing bingo to making clay hedgehogs. Tenants.....