Social care online

Audit of the problems that older people experience in accessing health and social care services. Standards proposed include the early intervention and programme of action to address issues of age discrimination. The national service framework for older people is a programme of action linking services to support independence and promote good health, specialised services for key conditions, and culture change so that all older people and their carers are always treated with respect, dignity and fairness.

The care that people receive at the end of their lives has a profound impact not only upon them but also upon their families and carers. At the most difficult of times, their experience will be made worse if they encounter poor communication and planning or inadequate professional expertise. The Health Committee has looked at the state of end of life care since the independent Review of the Liverpool Care Pathway, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, and found great variation in quality and practice across both acute and community settings.

This paper examines the relationship between informal care and ending paid work for working women of three age groups (up to 30, 31–49 and 50 or more years) in 1995 in Belgium. It explores the effect of being a carer for older adults on the probability of ceasing to work. Most particularly, it focuses on the effect of the care intensity in the different age groups. The analyses use data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). A sample of 24,592 working women living in 11 European countries was followed from 1995 to 2001.

Describes the process and outcomes of developing a carers' training and education programme, for carers of people with dementia, using a partnership approach.

AIMS AND METHOD Despite good evidence for their effectiveness in the treatment of schizophrenia, family interventions are difficult to implement. Prior to a local trust-wide programme to encourage their use, we carried out a case note review of family contact with clients and staff of community mental health teams (CMHTs). A 10% sample of CMHT clients was included.

The film is introduced by the manager of a residential care home for older people with dementia who talks about the importance of understanding the individual, their interests, background and personal history. The benefits of this approach are illustrated by Marjorie’s story. Marjorie has been supported and encouraged to take up her interest in music again and it has brought pleasure to her life. There is an emphasis on relationship-based, individual person-centred care, rather than a functional approach to basic personal care. This is important to maintaining dignity and well-being.

The Carers in the Region profiles have been commissioned by the Department of Health to provide information about carers at the regional level for each of the 9 English regions. These profiles include data on the number and characteristics of carers in each region as well as information about carer health and well-being. This profile provides information covering the North East region. In 2001 there were 275,813 carers in the North East region, which is 11% of the region’s population.

AIMS AND METHOD The National Health Service Plan stated that all correspondence between clinicians would be copied to patients by April 2004. We wanted to find out whether this practice reflected the true desires of their patients. A questionnaire survey was therefore performed in older adults and their carers attending a psychiatric out-patient clinic.

The main aim of this guide is to provide a useful resource for commissioners, managers and practitioners in a wide range of statutory and voluntary sector organisations to implement telecare for the benefit of people living in their local communities.

The guide provides supporting information and checklists to be read in conjunction with The Department of Health Guidance 'Building Telecare in England' (July 2005).

Reports on what the proposed legislation Carers (Equal Opportunities) Bill, will mean for the provision of services to carers. It aims to provide carers who end their caring role with information on opportunities for education, training and employment.