Peterborough’s adult mental health community care has received a “good” rating in a national review. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust was praised by the Healthcare Commission for its many examples of good practice. These include the range of information available to service users and carers on both mental health conditions and the local services available.

A devoted elderly couple who have been inseparable for more than half-a-century have been forced into different care homes by social services. Geoffrey and Margaret Jones, who have been married for 51 years, have been split up for practically the first time since falling in love while working in the same office. Now their family believe their health is deteriorating further because of the heartache of not being able to see one another and are demanding that a place be found where they can spend their remaining time together.

{mosimage}Jack Straw has defended his comments that he would prefer if Muslim women did not wear veils at his surgery. The Labour MP for Blackburn went even further on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme saying he would rather the veil was not worn at all. The Conservatives criticised Mr Straw over his views, after he said wearing the veil could damage “better, positive relations” between communities. Downing Street said Mr Straw was expressing a private opinion. The prime minister said it was reasonable for people to express opinions.

Uttlesford Primary Care Trust has now become part of the brand new West Essex PCT. Five new PCTs have replaced the previous 12 across the county as part of a nationwide scheme which is expected to save the NHS £250 million. The launch of the new system follows a consultation which ended in March 2006 and asked people for their views on how primary care services should be run. Its results showed 90 per cent of patients experience the NHS through GP practices, healthcare agencies and social care agencies and the PCT changes aim to shift the focus of health care from hospitals to community-based care.

Social care workers have been subjected to a catalogue of assaults and abuse in the course of their duties across Oxfordshire. Files obtained by the Oxford Mail using the Freedom of Information Act show that frontline staff – including occupational therapists and social care workers – have been punched, kicked, bitten – and even head-butted in the course of their work in the past two years.

Up to 4,000 children in Suffolk – some as young as five – are now the main carers for either their parents or siblings, shocking new evidence has revealed. It sparked calls last night for more help from social services and support groups to assist the youngsters amid fears they are missing out on their childhoods. Suffolk Young Carers, a project run by Claydon-based charity Suffolk Family Carers, has revealed that children as young as five are taking on responsibilities in the family household that would usually be carried out by an adult.

The history of child-based social care is a history of poor outcomes, especially for looked after children. Yet, in general, the social workers who deal with looked after children come to the work with a moral purpose, with idealism, energy, enthusiasm and a commitment to rectifying injustice.

Health Minister Lord Warner has launched a new discussion document asking how urgent care services can be improved in the future to deliver a better patient experience. The document – Direction of Travel for Urgent Care: a discussion document – is seeking the views of staff and service users on how urgent care services, such as GP practices, NHS Walk-in Centres, and ambulance services, can best work together to create services that respond more effectively to local patients’ needs.

A row blew up last night after victims of crime were told to exaggerate their calls for help in a bid to get a faster response from the police. The advice came from a Norfolk Police Authority member amid growing fears that people living in outlying rural areas of East Anglia were being let down. Outspoken John Perry-Warnes told a council meeting that it was vital to “exaggerate” details of crimes to trigger a speedier police reaction.

A therapy that trains brains to alter mental state may help ADHD, says David Mattin. In a South London clinic a young girl is sitting with an electrode attached to her scalp, staring intently at a computer screen. Every so often there is a ping and on the screen, which shows a simple graphic of sea and sky, another bird appears, hovering above the water. That’s a signal that in the game Lara Hargrave, 10, is playing, using only her brain waves to control the action, she has just scored a point.