The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has launched its new corporate plan outlining its objectives for the next three years. The plan demonstrates a shift in focus from establishing and developing a knowledge base to actively promoting changes to practice. Launching SCIE’s corporate plan 2006-09, Chair of SCIE, Allan Bowman, said: “SCIE’s corporate plan sets out the significant progress that SCIE continues to make. Since we began in 2001 we’ve worked closely with all our stakeholders and partners to develop a reliable centre of knowledge and trusted resources.

The frontline healthcare body for Mole Valley has hit back at a survey that ranked it among the lowest in the country for spending on combating heart disease. East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) spent £98 per head on circulatory problem, including heart disease, from 2004 to 2005, compared with a highest of £173 in South and East Dorset and a lowest of £68 in City and Hackney. Figures from a report by the independent King’s Fund also showed the trust spent about half of neighbouring Guildford and Waverley PCT – £65 per head compared to £126.

A mental health unit which hasn’t admitted a new long-term patient for the last five years is set to close. Health bosses say that Sion House community ward, in Ribbleton, is “no longer fit for purpose” and its six patients could be given better treatment elsewhere. Under proposals submitted by Lancashire Care NHS Trust four patients would be transferred to the Euxton Lane community ward, Chorley, while the other two would be cared for in the private sector.

The average weekly cost of looking after an adult in the care of social services in Oxfordshire is among the highest in the country – £679 a week. The county comes near the top of a league table showing the cost per person of intensive social care services. But the man heading the service in Oxfordshire said the situation would not improve as long as the county remained one of the most affluent in the region. Charles Waddicor, pictured, director of social and community services, said: “The figure refers to the average weekly spend on care homes and some home support packages for adults aged 18 and over.

Bradford is winning its battle to cut the number of schoolgirl mums. The district’s pregnancy rate for under-18s has dropped by 22.9 per cent, according to new figures. Bradford is the second most improved out of the 15 Yorkshire and Humber regions – beaten only by North Yorkshire – and 15th best out of 129 English regions, it has been revealed. The number of teenage conceptions in the district has fallen from 57.2 out of 1,000 to 44.1. The figures were based on the numbers of birth registrations and abortions in under-18s at Bradford’s four Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in 2004. The results were compared to the same data collected in 1998.

In response to the ‘Choosing Health: Supporting the physical health needs of people with severe mental illness’ guidance published by the Department of Health, Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “This is a welcome step in the right direction. We know that exercise and a balanced diet can maintain mental well-being. Good physical health is also important for people with severe mental health problems as they are more likely to develop serious physical ailments such as diabetes or heart disease.

According to research released by Care Directory, a new elderly care information service, 97% of Britons feel the government should be doing more to help people find suitable care and housing solutions for elderly relatives and loved ones. The study revealed that 75% of Britons feel that they would not be able to make an informed decision, and more than 40% of people do not have a clear starting place for finding the most appropriate care.

Social workers who have left the profession are being coaxed back into work because of a serious shortage of staff. A scheme called Return to Practice has been set up by Warwickshire County Council to encourage people who are no longer social workers to return to work. Council workers found there were a number of qualified professionals interested in returning to the job but felt unable to because of the length of time they had been away. As part of the scheme they were offered training and were rewarded if they met certain targets.

Exempting mental health units from the ban on smoking in public places would worsen health inequalities for people with mental health problems, warn doctors writing in the BMJ. Smoking is the largest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in the United Kingdom, with 106,000 people dying of smoking related diseases in 2002, and more than 10,000 dying each year as a result of passive smoking. The Health Act 2006 will make all enclosed public and work places in England and Wales smoke-free environments, but may exclude some mental health settings.

The education system is failing to help children in care to break out of a “cycle of disadvantage”, according to the children’s charity Barnado’s. A survey of 66 young people who had spent much of their lives in care showed that just seven of them left school with five or more GCSEs at grade A – C. Fewer than half were currently in training, employment or further education. “The cycle of disadvantage that haunts these children as they grow up shows no sign of being broken as they enter adulthood,” said Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnado’s.