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    By Colin Slasberg in Social Care, Uncategorized

    THE WHITE PAPER – RE-HASHING THE GLOSSY BROCHURE WITH ZERO CHANGE

    December 14, 2021

    The White Paper says social care must give people ‘choice, control, and support to live independent lives’ through ‘outstanding quality and tailored care and support’ which they must find ‘fair and accessible’. No one will argue with any of that. If achieved, most will agree that the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘fix social care’ had been delivered. But there is a problem. This vision is no different from the vision set out when the personalisation strategy was launched in 2007. Nor is the vision any different from a re-launch in 2011 by Think Local Act Personal (TLAP), the body entrusted […]
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    By Jim Gralton in Environmental health, NHS, NHS reorganisation, Public Health, Uncategorized, Well-being

    DOCTORS IN UNITE CALL FOR A NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE.

    October 14, 2021

    Up to a third of UK social class differences in health was probably caused by work 50 years ago. Since then, many hazardous jobs have been exported but new types of unhealthy work have emerged.Work can be bad for health but so is unemployment. The most disadvantaged suffer unemployment in recessions and poor-quality work during economic growth. Work in a safe and supportive environment benefits health.Chronic illness and disability often prevent obtaining such work, or lead to its loss. People with impairments should be employed for their abilities. Punitive ‘welfare to work’ policies damage health, cause stress and diminish self-respect.Profit-driven […]
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    By Tony Jewell in Labour Health Policy, NHS, Public Health

    Review of ‘A Radical Practice in Liverpool: the rise, fall and rise of the Princes Park Health centre’ Katy Gardner and Susanna Graham-Jones.

    August 2, 2021

    ‘A Radical Practice in Liverpool: the rise, fall and rise of the Princes Park Health centre’ Katy Gardner and Susanna Graham-Jones. Published by Writing on the Wall. 2021. 268 pages. ISBN 13:9781910580561. This book covers 40 years in the life of Princes Park Health Centre (PPHC), a progressive practice serving a diverse and deprived inner city community in Liverpool 8. This area in South Liverpool hit the headlines in 1981 with the so called Toxteth riots which were the result of long term deprivation and racism and were sparked off by incidents of police ‘stop and search’. Such tensions still […]
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    By Colin Slasberg in Campaigns, Social Care, Uncategorized

    TWO CONTRASTING CAMPAIGNS FOR REFORM OF SOCIAL CARE – SECTOR LEADERS AND DISABLED PEOPLE

    July 19, 2021

    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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    By Georgie Hulme in Campaigns, Social Care, Uncategorized

    The Battle For Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in Residential Buildings By Georgie Hulme (Co-Founder – CLADDAG), member of SHA, Manchester.

    July 7, 2021

    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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    By Jim Gralton in Uncategorized

    WELSH SOCIAL CARE PRIORITIES.

    June 25, 2021

    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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    By Colin Slasberg in Uncategorized

    THE ‘1948 MOMENT’ TO MAKE INDEPENDENT LIVING THE VISION FOR SOCIAL CARE

    June 7, 2021

    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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    By Stewart Player in NHS, Privatisation

    CENTENE: THE REAL AGENDA – WHAT TO EXPECT

    June 2, 2021

    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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    By Stewart Player in NHS, NHS reorganisation, Privatisation, Uncategorized

    SIMON STEVENS – THE LONG VIEW

    May 14, 2021

    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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    By Stewart Player in Uncategorized

    CENTENE: THE REAL AGENDA

    May 10, 2021

    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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    By Jim Gralton in Uncategorized

    Covid 19 Call to Royal Colleges.

    January 2, 2022

    The continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic requires a holistic response from the global to the personal. However in many instances this is not happening. The following letter had been sent by Doctors in Unite to a number of the medical Royal Colleges in England calling for a more focused response to the airborne nature of this infection.   Dear President / Chair After almost two years of constant high level alert due to the Covid pandemic, as a medical trade union, Doctors in Unite share the profession’s concerns about the continuing implications of this ongoing situation for patients, society, the […]
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    By Jim Gralton in Health Care, Primary Care, Quality of care, Uncategorized

    GENERAL PRACTICE TOTTERING ON THE BRINK

    October 19, 2021

    Following the Lost Decade of Austerity the NHS is undertaking a process of readjustment and reconfiguration to prevent the service falling over. In primary care the most prominent outward signs are “new models of care” and “Digital First”. The new models of care vary depending on locations but at their core is an attempt to divert what might be classed as routine and less serious illnesses from general practitioners so that they can concentrate on more serious specialist work. The focus shifts from the individual GP to a multi-disciplinary teams in its broadest, an often disconnected, sense. The GP is […]
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    By Roy Trevelion in Uncategorized

    Susanna Mitchell – A Personal Tribute by Roy Trevelion

    July 28, 2021

    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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    By Jim Gralton in Care Sector, Carers, Children, Devolution, Social Care, Wales

    REBALANCING SOCIAL CARE IN WALES — Response to Welsh Government White Paper on Social Care.

    May 17, 2021

    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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