Care for people with dementia in England and Wales must be more co-ordinated, with better access to specialist services, a watchdog says. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence also called for carers to be given access to counselling as part of its guidance.

{mosimage}But campaigners said the advice was being overshadowed by the decision to restrict use of four drugs. NICE said dementia care was not just about giving drugs to people.

The recommendations, produced in conjunction with the Social Care Institute for Excellence for services in England and Wales, cover the whole spectrum of services from day centres to access to consultants.

It said there should be a co-ordinated and integrated approach to allow referral across the health and social care divide.

NICE also said there should be better access to scans and memory assessment services – specialist clinics led by consultants – to help improve diagnosis and treatment.

Britons are in denial over the impact that drinking too much has on their health, according to new research. Just 12% of adults have worried about the effects of drinking too much on their health in the last three months, according to Legal > General.

More than 70 “super nannies” are to try to improve parenting in areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour, Tony Blair is expected to announce. The prime minister is expected to announce £4m for parenting experts in 77 areas of the country.

{mosimage}Mr Blair will warn that poor parenting is bad for society and is also catastrophic for children. This comes after a Mori poll suggested 53% of people think poor parenting is the main cause of bad behaviour.

In the poll for the Home Office, 85% of respondents blamed parents for allowing children to become out of control. The child psychologists will be funded by the prime minister’s Respect Task Force to work in deprived areas.

Treating children in adult psychiatric wards is a “national scandal”, says the Children’s Commissioner for England. Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green told the BBC he fears children leave in a poorer condition than when they went in.

A report to be published next week by the charity Young Minds warns there are not enough emergency beds for children with mental health problems.

{mosimage}Almost 1,000 under-18s spend time on an adult ward in a year, with more than half of those admissions inappropriate.

Young Minds’ report, prepared for the Children’s Commissioner, details the experiences of sixteen young people, aged between 13 and 19, who have been treated on adult wards for their mental health problems.

Some were held in police cells or accident and emergency units whilst a search was made for a place which could take them.

Almost 100,000 complaints were received by frontline NHS trusts in England during 2005/06. Statistics released by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care reveal that in 2005/06 a total of 95,047 complaints were made. This compares with 90,413 complaints made during the previous 12 months.

A mother from Witney in Oxfordshire is distressed that her mentally ill 18-year-old daughter is to be cared for more than 60 miles away in Southampton. Lesley Sykes, of Blakes Avenue, is upset that her daughter Victoria Plowman who, she says, has a mental age of five, cannot be cared for in Oxfordshire. Victoria, who has learning and behaviour difficulties and delayed speech, went into care in March and was taken to a home in Colchester, Essex.

A scheme aimed at tackling harassment of people with a learning disability has been launched in Colburn. Funding from Richmondshire Community Safety Partnership (RCSP) led to the creation of a ‘Keeping Safe’ pack, designed to make it easier for people to inform the relevant authorities of incidents where they have been bullied or the victim of hate crime.

A celebration ceremony has been hosted to thank long-serving foster carers for the love and support they offer Derbyshire County Council’s looked after children. Carers with 10 years’ service or more with the authority were invited to attend the fourth annual Foster Carers’ Long Service Awards at County Hall, Matlock. Councillor Walter Burrows, chair of Derbyshire County Council, officially opened the evening.

It is a “national scandal” that young people are being treated in the same psychiatric wards as adults, according to the Children’s Commissioner. Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green said he feared children could be more damaged than helped by the experience. Sir Al was speaking ahead of the publication of a report next week which is expected to warn that there are not enough emergency beds for children with mental health problems.

Campaigners are to urge MPs to join their push to secure a right to a break for carers of disabled children. Every Disabled Child Matters – a consortium of four charities – will meet MPs later to try to win their support for a private member’s bill.