Care Home News
Care home staff awarded 'Heroes' medal call it 'big morale boost'
29 Jun 2020
A husband has given care home staff a ‘Heroes of 2020’ medal for their tireless efforts looking after his wife during the pandemic, with the care home calling it a “big morale boost”. Martin Butler, aged.....
Welsh care home owner wants investigation of 'chronic under funding' by local council
29 Jun 2020
Doug Leach, owner of Bryngwy care home in Rhayader is so disillusioned with the "outdated system" of residential care funding in Wales, he is calling for an urgent investigation. This is after Care Forum.....
Care minister Helen Whately is 'looking at' plan for social care for this year
29 Jun 2020
Care minister Helen Whately has said her department is “looking at” how to deliver Boris Johnson’s election manifesto pledge to come up with a plan for social care this year. Almost 44,000 people have.....
Coronavirus: Care homes in Scotland can reopen to visitors from 3 July
25 Jun 2020
Care home residents in Scotland will be able to have visitors from 3 July, if that setting has not had a coronavirus case or has been free of the virus for 28 days. Scotland’s health secretary Jeane Freeman.....
Coronavirus test with 20 minute diagnosis must be 'rolled out' says care leader
25 Jun 2020
A COVID-19 test that can give care homes an on-site diagnosis within 20 minutes has prompted a care sector leader to call for its roll out to ensure visitors can meet residents regularly. The COVID-19 LAMP.....
Coronavirus: 106 Four Seasons care homes picked for government's year-long test study
25 Jun 2020
Some 10,000 staff and residents in 106 care homes run by Four Seasons Care Homes Group will get repeat COVID-19 testing, as part of a government study to learn how the virus spreads in care homes. Over.....
Police investigating care home break-ins across Scotland urge security review
24 Jun 2020
Police investigating multiple break-ins in care homes across Scotland by a gang targeting elderly residents’ possessions, are calling on care settings to review their security. In just four days, (between.....
Care home chef who once cooked for the Queen enables residents to travel the world through food
24 Jun 2020
A chef at Gracewell Healthcare, who has worked for a number of 5 star hotel restaurants including the Dorchester and cooked for the Queen, Nelson Mandela and Tom Cruise, now spends his time helping residents travel the world through.....
Coronavirus: Care homes welcome Scottish guidance requiring staff to wear face masks 'throughout' shift
24 Jun 2020
Staff working in Scotland’s care homes and hospitals ‘in a clinical area’ must wear medical face masks ‘at all times throughout their shift’ from 29 June, according to new guidelines from the Scottish Government. The.....
Coronavirus care home deaths fall for eighth week in a row
23 Jun 2020
There has been a UK-wide week on week fall in care homes' COVID-19 deaths - with England's care homes seeing a decline in deaths for the eighth consecutive week, analysis by carehome.co.uk reveals. England’s.....
Government official says discharging 25,000 untested patients into care homes was right decision
23 Jun 2020
Discharging 25,000 hospital patients to care homes without testing for COVID-19 was not “high risk and wrong”, the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) most senior civil servant has said. Top civil.....
Coronavirus: Daughter suing government for care home deaths told legal action is not in public interest
22 Jun 2020
The daughter of man who died of suspected COVID-19 in a care home, has been told legal action she is taking, which accuses the government of exposing care home residents to serious harm, is not in the public interest......
88-year-old care home resident who beat COVID-19 says 'I was never alone in this'
19 Jun 2020
An 88-year-old resident who spent 12 days in hospital with coronavirus reveals that being away from the care home and "unable to see any of my friends or the team was so hard". On 15 March, staff at The Manse Residential Care Home,.....
Essex care home staff wear badges to protect 'our residents and our team'
19 Jun 2020
Staff at a care home in Braintree are wearing badges outside of work to try to ensure they keep their residents coronavirus-free. Care home staff at The New Deanery and St Mary's Court Care Home have been issued with badges.....
Coronavirus lockdown sparks new radio station for people with dementia
18 Jun 2020
A new radio station created for people with dementia is expected to become the “station of choice” for care settings and those with the condition living at home. m4d Radio (m4dradio.com) is the new internet.....
Dame Vera Lynn the Forces' Sweetheart dies aged 103
18 Jun 2020
Singer and entertainer Dame Vera Lynn has died at the age of 103 at her home surrounded by close family. Dame Vera Lynn was fondly known as the Forces' Sweetheart due to her morale-boosting visits to the.....
92-year-old care home resident keeps friendship going with four-year-old via video calls
17 Jun 2020
Video calls are helping a 92-year old care home resident and a four-year-old boy keep their friendship going and it is really ‘lifting Harry’s mood’ during lockdown. Before lockdown four-year-old Harry Oatham.....
Coronavirus life-saving drug dexamethasone approved for use in UK
17 Jun 2020
An anti-inflammatory drug, already available in pharmacies across the UK, can save the lives of hospitalised COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen and has been approved for use in the NHS. The drug dexamethasone.....
COVID-19: Free mental health training available to all frontline workers
17 Jun 2020
Public Health England (PHE) are offering a free online psychological first aid training course for all frontline staff and volunteers who have dealt with difficult situations during the coronavirus pandemic. This.....
Dame Vera Lynn tells care home residents 'in these difficult times it's so important to smile'
16 Jun 2020
Staff and residents at a Poole care home were thrilled to receive a thank you letter from the wartime singer Dame Vera Lynn for the birthday card they sent her, bearing the message 'in these difficult times it's so important to smile'. In.....
Coronavirus: Care home deaths fall for seventh week in a row
16 Jun 2020
For a seventh consecutive week, care homes in England have reported a fall in deaths, reflecting a UK-wide continual drop in the care home death rate. England’s care homes reported 407 COVID-19 deaths (irrespective.....
COVID-19: Doctor sues government over 'heartbreaking' death of her father in care home
15 Jun 2020
A doctor, who has a degree in microbiology specialising in airborne diseases, has launched a legal case against the government for their ‘unlawful conduct’ during the pandemic ‘that has contributed to the death and serious illness.....
Exclusive: Care minister says care workers are like bee keepers who are 'fully protected' from being stung
15 Jun 2020
Care workers are like beekeepers working on hives during the COVID-19 pandemic which the government is protecting from getting stung, says care minister Helen Whately in this opinion piece for carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk......
Care homes in Wales get £500 offer extended to all staff
12 Jun 2020
All care home staff in Wales will receive a £500 one-off payment, after care bosses and trade unions urged the Welsh Government to expand its bonus scheme. The Welsh Government's First Minister Mark.....
Families call for risk-assessed visits in care homes saying 'Mum is forgetting who I am'
11 Jun 2020
Families of care home residents are calling for the government to give guidance to care homes on visiting, in the wake of reports that residents with dementia are experiencing cognitive decline and physical deterioration since visits.....
Coronavirus: Care home boss fears second wave in Wales after 70-hour wait for test results
10 Jun 2020
Care home workers in Wales will be given a weekly COVID-19 test for a month starting from next week but a Welsh care home owner has warned test results are “too slow” and could cost lives. 'Critical.....
Highlighting lack of PPE and testing 'unintentionally created perception care homes are no go zones'
10 Jun 2020
A boss of a care home group which owns care homes and extra care housing in Kent fears the care sector’s decision to openly highlight the lack of PPE and testing “may have unintentionally created a perception that care homes are no.....
Coronavirus: Mum with dementia cried 'happy tears' when sons used care home pod to visit her
10 Jun 2020
Two brothers are among the families expressing their relief at being able to visit their loved ones in a care home during lockdown, thanks to a pod that stops a ban on visitors. The SafeTime Pod is the.....
Coronavirus care home deaths fall for sixth week in a row
09 Jun 2020
Care homes in England have reported a fall in deaths of its residents for the sixth consecutive week, reflecting a UK-wide continual drop in the care home death rate. For the week ending 5 June,.....
Coronavirus: Health Secretary claims care home testing victory while homes await tests
08 Jun 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced the government has met its 6 June target to give COVID-19 test kits to all care homes for over-65s or those with dementia, but a poll of 264 care homes reveals 13 per cent were still waiting.....