
Chris Potter
If you work in homecare, private nursing, mental health for social workers or even for a company who offers bespoke care packages, you will now that sometimes, you have to visit a client’s house. That is why it is so surprising to see a care worker in Scotland, be fired and banned from working in the sector. She was let go because she failed to maintain appropriate boundaries. It would seem that she attended someone’s house without consent and she also stole a bottle of Oramorph from another client’s home. Lisa Smith has been labelled as being dishonest by Social Services and she did not even show any regret for her behaviour either. It would seem that the behaviour was in fact premeditated and that it took place during her main employment. She did not cooperate with the SSSC, nor did she release any comments that related to her current behaviour. She stole medication from someone and this is listed as being abusive as a social care worker. The report did say that the only factor that worked in her favour was the fact that she had previous concerns but these were not raised. She was told that she acted without any honesty and that she also abused the trust and confidence that was placed in her as a social worker. She accessed medication that was not for her and she caused harm to a service user. Not only this, she also put a service user at risk of major harm and this is not good to say the least. When people hire social workers, they have to feel confident knowing that they are going to be getting the support that they need at home but this cannot be the case if the social worker in question is breaking the rules.
If you work in private nursing, homecare or even in mental health then you will know that the cut to social workers funding is going to impact everyone. Even those who offer bespoke care packages are going to be impacted and this is bad news to say the least. News broke that social care funding is going to be halved and this is bad news to say the least. These announcements could well take people back to social care camp over the next few years, but this is a difficult pill to swallow when older people, and the disabled are not getting the care that they need. The truth is that the measures in this plan are very much modest and foundational. A lot of them have been welcomed but they are not enough to transform social care, and this is what people needed.
A lot of the money that has been promised is now not available and the CSA members are telling people that they are in line for a lot of disappointment. The latest government performance regarding social care is highlighting some major issues and this is not good to say the least. Suggestions are currently suggesting that councils are probably going to be making more cuts later this year, but the jury is out regarding whether or not the measures are going to be enough to compensate for the difficulties currently being experienced.
A lot of people are worried about the future as it is and things are not looking good at all. The outlook for the disabled and those in need is looking dire and this is going to mean even more negativity for the future. Who knows what the future holds but right now, more support has to be given to those who need it the most. If not, then the elderly will suffer.
Currently it would seem that there is a shortfall in England’s homecare funding. If you work in the sector of private nursing or if you any kind of bespoke care packages you’ll know how dire this is. It is going to impact those who work in mental health as well as those who work as social workers as well. The government have completed an exercise which helps them to look into the true cost of care in general and right now the findings ae based on the data from last year. They do not even take into account inflation and this is obviously making things way worse. The elderly as well as the most vulnerable patients in the UK are now at risk and they are also being impacted by local councils. The shortfall when it comes to homecare is really evident right now and in reality care providers are being paid way less than they should be.
This comes as the UK suffers its worst possible staffing crisis. The care workforce is shrinking for the first time and this happened last year. Now it would seem that care providers are finding it hard to pay enough so that they can compete with various supermarkets as well as fast food restaurants. This is a direct impact of underfunding so this just goes to show how much things have to change. Martin Green has said that the evidence is now clearer than ever and the care sector is now on its knees. Over the next two years, the government intend to inject a lot of money into social care but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be enough. Who knows what the future holds, but right now things are not looking good for the industry and it all comes down to funding.
If you work in private nursing, homecare or if you work as social workers for mental health support then you should know that the very first stage of updates has now been released. Those who offer bespoke care packages will be glad to know that the ASCOF is a set of indicators and they look at the outcomes as well as the performance of how well care support services are achieving their appropriate outcomes. On top of this, they publish the statistics annually, with the intention of them being used locally as well as nationally. They want to try and set prior annual indicators of the outcomes as well as the general performance.
The DHSC have said that they want ASCOF to try and demonstrate how social care is helping people to achieve the outcomes that actually matter to them as well as their individual needs. They have worked closely with the Task and Finish group and they also have a lot of sector representation. The want to try and maximise national levels when it comes to monitoring, and they also want to check to see if good outcomes are being achieved. At the end of the day, better outcomes are going to be available by trying to utilise upcoming changes and this is going to do a lot for strengthening existing data. Updates happen to include metrics that reflect people who work outside of those who have unpaid careers as well. This happens to include the whole care workforce, so it is important to keep this in mind as much as possible. At the end of the day, it is surprising to see how far things have come but right now it would seem that things are looking very positive.
If you work in private nursing, homecare, as a social worker or even in the sector of mental health offering bespoke care packages then you will be interested to know that labour have now unveiled five different missions for the UK. Keir Starmer has outlined the five new national missions and this is going to form part of the election manifesto. In terms of the economy, it is their aim to try and deliver the highest level of growth out of the G7. For health, they are going to build an NHS that is actually fit for the future by completely reforming mental health. In the coming months, it is their aim to focus on things such as crime as well. Labour intend to set out a full route map which will help them with each mission and it will also help them with the measurable goals that they have set. The first steps are going to deal with the crises that people have faced on their way to the bigger mission as well as making sure that everything is on the appropriate timeline. Labour have said that every mission is going to be ultimately constructed in a way that helps them to achieve the highest chance of success. It is their aim to put the citizen first and at the heart of the policies that they intend to create. They also want to make sure that they set the appropriate building blocks toward the mission as well and this is great to say the least. Who knows what the future holds but right now it looks like things are going very well and that there are only positives in sight for the future in terms of healthcare, crime and ultimately, security.
A spokesperson for the Welsh homecare provider, known as Achieve Together have responded to the fact that there has been a delay in getting the payment. The company have reviewed their fees and uplifts and they have also said that they do not have enough funding to pay the right wage to their team members. If you work in private nursing, homecare or if you offer bespoke care packages then you will know how dire this is. If you work with social workers or if you offer mental health support then you will also know how devastating this can be. After the spokesperson released their statement, they went on to confirm that the company are going to be implementing some back pay. Team members are going to get this as a lump sum or they are going to get this through their own phased payments. The team are going to get access to the Real Living Wage and this is going to take place across Wales. On top of this, they are going to be completing some national arrangements. Again, these are going to be done in line with what the Welsh government are recommending right now. The team members are going to get a few backdated elements and they are going to get support when they need it. This uplift is finally the recognition that people need to know that they are doing a good job. It’s also going to mean that people finally get the help they need from a financial perspective as well which is very good news to say the least. Only time will tell what the future holds but right now it would seem that things are moving in a positive direction and this is a positive sign.
The Department of Health has told the NHS that as of right now, there is not going to be any kind of pay rise for healthcare workers. This applies to those who work in private nursing, homecare, social workers and bespoke care packages for mental health. This comes as the Department of Health respond to the pay review. Right now workers are taking strike action over the amount of pay that has been offered. The Department of Health have said that right now they cannot afford to give more pay and that they also need to cut elsewhere to ensure that the needs of the sector are met. The department are having to work hard to manage the ongoing response to the pandemic and they are having to do this against the financial backdrop. They have said that right now they have to focus on efficiency and they also have to adopt the right saving measures. That being said, they are having to deal with some very tough decisions. At the end of the day the high amount of expenditure with pay means that there are going to be very big implications, especially with service delivery. This comes with the biggest staffing crisis that the sector has seen. There is a lot of flagging for pay and that this is being compounded by poor working conditions. Workers are now having to deal with working conditions on top of all this. The last solution has been posed by the NHS and they are trying to address the staffing crisis in social care even more. Who knows what the future holds but right now, things are looking somewhat bleak for those who work in the healthcare sector and things are only going to get worse too.