The Local Government Association has released a statement that 91% of 600 councillors support a campaign for reform of social care launched by a partnership called Social Care Futures. As part of re-building society post-pandemic, their campaign calls for social care to serve the purpose of enabling people in need of care and support to: ‘live in the place we call home, be with the people and things that we love, in communities where we care about and support each other, doing the things that matter to us’. This is a warming vision whose worthiness few will dispute. But before […]
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Many readers may be aware that this is a major issue, but I am going to do my utmost to condense its main aspects into this blog. Obviously different people will have a varying spectrum of knowledge on this subject, but I am writing here from the perspective that many might be unaware or have limited knowledge of the issues involved. What is a PEEP? PEEP stands for a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. Its purpose is to provide people who are unable to self evacuate unaided from a building, or to a place of safety, with a plan to help […]
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WELSH SOCIAL CARE PRIOIRITIES ANNOUNCED. The Welsh Government Social Care Minister, Julie Morgan MS, had just published the Welsh Labour Cabinet’s immediate priorities in progressing social care in Wales. A key element is the step to recognise the important role of the social care workforce, both paid and unpaid, in service delivery. In addition the Welsh Government has announced that it will be appointing a Chief Social Care Officer who will work with the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Nursing Officers for Wales. This is a very important step which should provide an important strategic boost to the development […]
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The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has published a document setting out how independent living, as defined by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, can and should be written into domestic law. The document addresses the breadth of issues relevant to independent living, including recommendations relevant to such as transport and housing. As far as social care is concerned its recommendations describe a route to a newly envisioned but financially sustainable future built to deliver independent living. What is independent living? It is first important to understand what the UN means by independent living. It […]
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The focus of the first article in this series was on Centene’s current – and anticipated – role within NHS England’s Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) programme. While brief mention was made of the corporation’s background, this article will examine it more fully, notably as the market leader within US Medicaid Managed Care (MMC), the private sector administration of state services for the poor, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. It also provides care for 1 in every 3 children. Given the increasingly evident parallels between ICSs and MMC, it is worth looking at what the English public can […]
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Comments Off on CENTENE: THE REAL AGENDA – WHAT TO EXPECT
The news that Sir Simon Stevens was standing down from his post as NHS England Chief Executive in July prompted some remarkable tributes from the Health Service Journal (HSJ), even by own standards. The editorial said that Stevens had managed to save the health service on no less than three occasions and has been the most important figure in NHS history since Aneurin Bevan. It also said that Stevens was “the greatest strategic health policy thinker of his generation”, and in this point at least the journal is accurate. STRATEGIC THINKING Back in May 2004 the Guardian’s John Carvel asked […]
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The recent buyout of a chain of London GP practices by the giant US insurer, Centene, prompted considerable media coverage last month with many Labour MPs and campaigning groups claiming the deal represented ‘privatization by stealth’. However, while this description may have been apt in 2005 it is now entirely outmoded as there is nothing covert nor slow about the process anymore. Instead, what is taking place – and has been for many years – is a full-blown, US-led takeover, by the same corporate interests, adopting the same instruments and organizational structures and effected by the deployment of key personnel […]
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Updated to include a tribute from the Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique (link at the end of the article) To his friend, the warm and wise novelist, poet and activist, Susanna Mitchell, both members of SHA. Reprinted from Camden New Journal 22nd July 2021. http://beta.westendextra.com/article/beware-flying-too-close-to-the-sun The sad news came from Susanna Mitchell’s family on the afternoon of July 7th – “Susanna has passed away peacefully at the Marie Curie Hospice,” after a long illness. Susanna was born and educated in Ireland. She was a novelist and poet, an activist and teacher with a background in political philosophy. Her novels include […]
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Through the decade of austerity, the Welsh Government is to be commended for its efforts to maintain the sustainability of our social services, in contrast to other parts of the UK. Socialist Health Association – Cymru (SHAC-C) welcomes the initiatives to promote greater joint working with other key agencies such as the NHS, housing, and education. The cap on the costs of domiciliary care and the increased thresholds for residential care provides Welsh residents with a more generous provision than elsewhere. We also welcome the proposals to improve the status of the social care workforce through its increased professionalisation and […]
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Comments Off on REBALANCING SOCIAL CARE IN WALES — Response to Welsh Government White Paper on Social Care.
Operose Health – a subsidiary of US healthcare giant the Centene Corporation, which provides health insurance to around 25m Americans – is expanding its portfolio of NHS GP practices to 58 through a ‘partnership’ with major primary care provider AT Medics. Effectively it allows Operose Health to takeover AT Medics. Operose Health already ran 21 NHS GP practices, spread from south-east England to the Midlands and north of England – and will nearly triple this figure through the deal with AT Medics. Its existing practices covered around 120,000 patients The trojan horse for this takeover is a form of general […]
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NINE TESTS OF THE AUTHENTICITY OF HOLYROOD’S COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS Joint authors: Colin Slasberg and Peter Beresford We have previously set out why we believe the Feeley review of Adult Social Care in Scotland has the potential to be truly ground breaking. Its first and primary recommendation is that social care should be established on a human rights basis. Whilst it also makes recommendations about structural change, the report recognises that structural change without cultural change is no change at all. While the rhetoric of human rights has littered social care policy for at least two decades, Feeley is […]
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Simon Collins at HIV i-Base reports today that the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) has decided to limit access to all conference materials – behind a pay wall – for up to six months after the conference. As before, copying and distribution of i-Base reports is encouraged and free. But please credit HIV i-Base as source. Here is today’s post about CROI: This year, CROI has decided to limit access to all conference materials to delegates or new subscribers for up to six month after the conference. These include abstracts, posters and webcasts. Usually, CROI has made all […]
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