Social care online

This article describes a caregiver education program that includes both family and professional caregiver issues developed by the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Human Development in the United States. In the program there are modules designed too bring professional and family caregivers together for a better appreciation of collaboration and teamwork; discussions of the meaning of caregiving; a module looking at how well carers are looking after themselves; modules focusing on building collaborative relationships with other caregivers; problem solving; and accessing resources.

Note outlining Government, NHS and other statutory bodies’ work to improve dementia diagnosis, care and support and research. In England, it is estimated that 676,000 people have dementia. It is expected that this figure will double in the next 30 years as life expectancy increases.

There has been much debate about the most appropriate site for in‐patient psychiatric care for people with learning disabilities. The evidence base for service delivery for this group is very scant. Even less is known about the experiences of service users and their carers, as their voices have been largely absent from this debate among service providers and policy makers. This article summarises results from a study into the experiences of adults with learning disabilities who were admitted for in‐patient psychiatric care. Their carers' views were also investigated.

It is frequently asserted that the views of patients or service users should inform the structure and delivery of health and social care services. In the UK, patient participation, the expertise of service users and user involvement in the design and outcomes of research have been repeatedly emphasized as producing services which are more responsive, better coordinated and less stigmatizing. The NHS has highlighted the importance of involving service users in education and training. This article reports on user and carer views about learning disability nursing.

The Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) has developed draft guidance for consultation on ‘Finding a shared vision of how people’s mental health problems should be understood’.  The guidance is aimed at everyone concerned with the development and delivery of services including people that use services and their carers.

The Blake Marsh lecture, an annual lecture on learning disability, was endowed in 1963 in memory of Dr Blake Marsh, the former medical superintendent of Bromham House Colony in Bedford.

To develop palliative care services it is important to evaluate local services and identifiy any gaps in provision. In this study a mapping exercise and a postal questionannaire were used to attempt to canvass the views of patients and carers using a service in Gloucestershire. Reports on the methodology and the findings of the questionnaire.

The instrument amends regulations 9 and 10 of the Community Care, Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) (England) Regulations 2009 to lift the requirement on local authorities to carry out a financial assessment when determining what amount is reasonably practicable for the direct payment recipient to pay towards securing the provision of residential accommodation.

This article canvases the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and proposes a holistic support regime for patients, carers and families.  The development of services for Alzheimer's patients and their families in the Nelson Mandela Metropole since 1991 is outlined.  Based on the expressed needs of families of AD sufferers specific support systems were identified, fund raising undertaken and projects initiated to offer respite to those in need of assistance.  The article offers insights into the nature and treatment of AD and how, based on a query from a single family, a syst

Unpaid family carers are the main providers of care for older people in the community. Local authority occupational therapists are required by law to assess the needs of such carers in their work, targeting their interventions to support carers' roles. This small qualitative study identified the perceived needs of nine family carers of adults with physical disabilities in one English county, exploring the extent to which these needs were met by local authority occupational therapists.