Care Home News
Reading Council refuses government request to admit COVID-19 patients to its care homes
28 Oct 2020
Reading Borough Council has refused to comply with the government’s request to identify care homes with high infection control procedures which can care for COVID-19 patients after they have been discharged from hospital. The.....
Care home helps 91-year-old see granddaughter marry
27 Oct 2020
A care home resident from Essex could not be at her granddaughter’s wedding because of current government restrictions but coronavirus was not going to stop 91-year-old Dot Bash, being there and celebrating. Peter.....
Care home fined £200,000 after 89-year-old lay on floor with fractured hip for up to two hours
26 Oct 2020
A care provider in Cheshire has been fined £200,000, after Chester Magistrates Court found it had failed to provide safe care for a 89-year-old resident who was left lying on the floor for up to two hours with a broken hip. Elli.....
Coronavirus: Police investigation into care homes across Scotland is 'distressing' frontline staff
23 Oct 2020
Police officers are gathering evidence on all COVID-19-linked care home deaths in Scotland with some frontline care workers undergoing “distressing” questioning, as part of a probe into Scottish care homes. Police.....
MPs call for £7bn social care funding boost and care home costs capped at £46,000
22 Oct 2020
A cross-party group of MPs is calling on the government to use the forthcoming spending review to invest £7bn more per year in adult social care by 2023/24. It also wants care home costs capped at £46,000 and better pay and recognition.....
Care watchdog CQC denied tests for inspectors before 500 care home visits
21 Oct 2020
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is being repeatedly denied weekly COVID-19 tests by the government despite it planning to visit hundreds of care homes over the next six weeks. The CQC has admitted that.....
Care homes call for national lockdown now to protect residents
20 Oct 2020
Care homes are urging the government to put England into a national lockdown to halt the threat of more coronavirus deaths and “protect our oldest and most vulnerable”. “The country needs an urgent, short.....
Care homes use thermal cameras to check temperatures for COVID-19
19 Oct 2020
Care homes run by St Monica Trust have installed thermal imaging cameras at entrances to check everyone's temperatures. Anyone arriving at one of the group's care homes will have their temperature checked.....
New laws mean pharmacists and paramedics will be able to administer COVID-19 vaccines
19 Oct 2020
New laws mean a wider range of healthcare workers, including student nurses and doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists, paramedics, independent nurses and allied healthcare professionals, will be able to administer COVID-19 and flu.....
Care home manager using film to help dementia residents remember is 'humbled' by Queen's honour
19 Oct 2020
A care home manager who captured the life stories of residents with dementia on film to help them remember lost memories and relieve their anxiety, says she feels "humbled" to be honoured by the Queen for her efforts. Fiona.....
Care home worker shaves her head for Macmillan Cancer Support
16 Oct 2020
A care home worker for Nellsar Care Homes group shaved her head raising over £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Recreation and well-being team member, Tracey Hampton, who works at Abbotsleigh Care Centre, Tonbridge.....
COVID-19 has 'exacerbated' an 'already fragile' social care system says CQC report
16 Oct 2020
COVID-19 has exposed an ‘already fragile’ social care system which has faced 'significant challenges' due to lack of PPE, staffing and testing, with long-standing need for reform ‘thrown into stark relief by the pandemic’ warns the.....
Government tells care homes to be ready to take COVID-19 patients by end of October
15 Oct 2020
The Department of Health and Social Care has sent a letter to all local authorities in England asking them to identify suitable care homes to take COVID-19 patients after they have been discharged from hospital. The.....
Four Seasons Health Care puts 42 care homes in Northern Ireland up for sale
14 Oct 2020
One of the UK’s largest care home groups Four Seasons Health Care has confirmed administrators have launched a process to sell all of its care homes in Northern Ireland. The administrators, Alvarez and Marshall,.....
Care home visit scheme to be piloted in England with relatives treated like key workers
14 Oct 2020
A pilot scheme is to be run in England enabling relatives to be treated like key workers and given regular tests enabling them to visit residents in care homes. Care minister Helen Whately told Science and.....
Care homes in Scotland to have extended visiting time with families able to hold hands with residents
13 Oct 2020
The Scottish Health Secretary has announced the government is to relax current care home restrictions where families and friends will once again be able to hold hands and personally interact with their loved ones as long as they follow.....
Care home resident who launched fitness programme for older people is awarded British Empire Medal
13 Oct 2020
A 74-year-old resident and fitness instructor from Surrey has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his efforts to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of older generations during COVID-19. Terry.....
Care homes' unsung heroes celebrated in COVID-19 Queen's birthday honours
12 Oct 2020
A care home manager praised as an "heroic leader" is among a host of care home staff recognised in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 1,495 receiving.....
Dementia doll therapy brings 'joy' to care home residents 'like nothing I've seen before'
09 Oct 2020
A care home in Kent has been using doll therapy with its residents, with its deputy manager revealing it has brought “joy like nothing I have seen before”. Edward Moore House in Gravesend was given a lifelike.....
UK's oldest man with Down's Syndrome dies: 'He touched everyone's heart'
08 Oct 2020
Staff at a care home in Kettering have paid tribute to Robin Smith, the UK’s oldest man with Down’s Syndrome, who has died at the age of 78, with one care worker saying ''no one that met him could resist adoring him". Mr.....
£1.2m dementia care home programme aims to personalise care in a COVID-19 world
07 Oct 2020
The government is funding a new programme to improve and personalise care for people with dementia in care homes, with the project addressing challenges such as residents being unable to see their families and staff wearing full PPE. The.....
Boris Johnson promises to 'fix the injustice of care home funding'
06 Oct 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said in his speech for the Conservative Party conference: "We will fix the injustice of care home funding. We will care for the carers as they care for us". Speaking with.....
'We need to pay care workers more. Clapping isn’t enough', says Care Workers Charity chief in podcast
06 Oct 2020
Karolina Gerlich came to the UK from Poland at the age of 18 as a care worker. In just over a decade she has become the figurehead of the Care Workers Charity raising over £2m for care workers during the pandemic. On.....
Care home residents and children encouraged to share love of poetry virtually with #PoetryTogether2020
06 Oct 2020
A national campaign launched by author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth to bring young and old together virtually to share the joy of poems, has been boosted by a Royal recital. The Duchess of Cornwall, a.....
Government defeated over immigration bill as Peers vote for care home workforce inquiry
06 Oct 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s flagship immigration bill that would end freedom of movement rules in the UK post-Brexit has been defeated in the House of Lords, after peers approved an amendment calling for an inquiry into the bill’s.....
'Shockingly irresponsible' government risked care home lives and violated human rights says Amnesty
05 Oct 2020
“Shockingly irresponsible” government decisions put care home residents' lives at risk and led to violations of their human rights, Amnesty International has said. An investigation by the human rights group.....
Over 1,000 COVID-19 test results delayed by more than a week says HC-One
01 Oct 2020
Care homes have spoken out about COVID-19 test results not coming back fast enough, with HC-One, the UK's biggest provider, among the care operators confirming delays of more than a week and outbreaks in their homes. Care.....