News

BMA council chairman Hamish Meldrum has warned MPs that the government’s health reforms continue to put the NHS at risk.
In a letter to all MPs, Dr Meldrum claims the plans outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill present an ‘unacceptably high risk to the NHS, threatening its ability to operate effectively and equitably, now and in the future’.

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The East Dulwich Community Centre is hosting an open day on Tuesday 13th September.

They will have talks by University of the 3rd Age, Workers Education Alliance; taster exercise class.

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Major changes to the help that private tenants get with their rent

The government has introduced new rules that make changes to local housing allowance (LHA) – the help you get to pay your rent. These changes may mean that you get less help.

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Free complaints investigation for those with a personal budget and self funders.

New powers have come into force from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) to investigate complaints from people who arrange their own care. This is in addition to complaints about care arranged and funded by local authorities, which the LGO has dealt with for more than 35 years.

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Although abuse of carers by the people they care for is rare, social workers need to be able to spot the risk factors. A  recent good practice paper from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) said practitioners operated a rule of optimism, whereby they overestimated families’ ability to care, which can lead to them missing this form of abuse. Denial, guilt and fear on carers’ part can also account for abuse going unnoticed. Below, Natalie Valios looks at four indicators of possible abuse highlighted by Adass and what social workers should do when confronted with them.

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Cuts to bus services in England are a threat to the most vulnerable people in society, a report by MPs says.

Local authority budget cuts have affected subsidised services – such as rural routes – and pushed up fares, says the Transport Select Committee.

It says elderly and disabled people are being stopped from working, taking part in education or accessing healthcare.

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Candoco Youth Dance is currently recruiting new members for their two weekly classes and performing company Cando2. Interested young people can join a taster session at the beginning of term OR we can visit your school or youth group for a FREE class (allocated on a first come first serve basis).

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The London Learning Disabilities Family Carers Network are hosting an event to develop their vision for positive and possible support.

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Councils not consulting adequately on services for older people

Counsel and Care, the national charity working with older people, their families and carers, is dismayed at the investigation results published by Community Care.  An investigation revealed that one out of ten councils could have increased their charges for adult social care services before going through the full consultation process, a legal obligation since 2006.

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Former NHS chief Lord Crisp hints that too many hospital building projects were carried out under Labour

Hospitals should be closed so the NHS in England can switch resources to the long-term care of the burgeoning numbers of older people in the community, the former chief executive of the health service Lord Crisp has said.

He would not put a figure on closures, but implied that too many new hospital building projects might have been carried out when Labour was in office and he was the NHS head.

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