One in 10 social worker jobs in Cambridgeshire is vacant. Low wages and the stress of the job were blamed for a 10.7 per cent vacancy rate. Asked by Coun Mandy Smith, why the rate was so high, Coun Shona Johnstone, Cambridgshire County Council’s cabinet member for children and young people’s services, replied: “Would you like to be a social worker?”

Social Care services should focus on meeting the needs and aspirations of local people rather than agencies being preoccupied with internal processes and ticking boxes was the clear message at a conference held at Lancaster University recently. The social care conference, entitled “Delivering Positive Outcomes”, was organised and hosted by Lancashire County Council to give health and social care staff across the North West the opportunity to hear from key thinkers and share good practice and innovation across adult social care.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is looking forward to its role in the plans for patient and public involvement in health and social care outlined in today’s publication ‘A stronger local voice: A framework for creating a stronger local voice in the development of health and social care services’. The Department of Health (DH) framework specifically mentions that SCIE will promote and support public and patient involvement by providing resources for commissioners, providers and regulators. Today’s announcement reinforces the messages of increased user control and choice outlined in the recent health and social care White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say.

Support from social care agencies to enable people to live at home in the advent of a disability or long-term health condition is a key expectation of the British public, an Ipsos MORI survey  reveals today. The Ipsos MORI survey, commissioned by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), the Equal Opportunities Commission and Carers UK, however, reveals a gulf between the public’s expectations about the kind of support they should receive and the reality of existing provision. This gulf is set to widen as the UK population ages and demand for social care grows, underscoring the need to reform the current system so that it enables both older and disabled people, and their relatives and friends who provide care for them, to keep their independence.

Social workers need to be more accessible, follow through on their promises and see children alone during visits, according to a new report released by the Children’s Rights Director. Most children and young people made very positive comments about their social workers, overall rating them eight out of 10. However, as with any group of people, there are good and bad ones. There are areas where change is necessary to ensure children receive the care they are entitled to.

The British government is violating the right of failed asylum seekers to health care, according to the BMJ. Since the start of the National Health Service, British doctors have taken pride in working in a service whose core principles include healthcare as a basic human right and a universal service for all based on clinical need, not ability to pay. Yet the reality is different, writes Peter Hall of Doctors for Human Rights.

In the light of recent revelations about the abuse in social care services in Cornwall, the R&RA is gravely concerned that the regulatory authorities could now be failing to prevent similar abuse in care homes for older people. The Chief Executive of R&RA, Gillian Dalley, has written to the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt, asking her to rethink her decision in March this year to reduce the frequency of care home inspections.

Mental health service users want more choices about the care they receive and better support to help them make those choices, according to research published by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and the King’s Fund. Choice in Mental Health Care finds that mental health and learning disability service users would like more opportunities to choose between different treatment, care and support options. They want to be involved in care planning, to have the option of direct payments and to be consulted about changes to local services.

{mosimage}Foster carers must be at the heart of Government reforms to improve educational outcomes for looked-after children, leading charity the Fostering Network warned at a recent conference in London. Speaking at the organisation’s aspiration and ambition conference, chief executive Robert Tapsfield told delegates that foster carers must be given more training and support to develop the skills to help children in care fulfil their potential.

Solicitors of a pensioner who received a five-figure payout after care workers allegedly force fed her talcum power have welcomed the settlement. Lucy Neal, 89, had allegedly been given the powder by care workers at her home in Handsworth, Birmingham. Nordia Noteman, Maxine Davidson and Rosemarie Malvo, who worked for the Welcome Care Agency, were cleared of assault in February 2004. The pensioner’s lawyers said the agency admitted negligence in a civil action. The five-figure settlement would help Mrs Neal overcome a “harrowing” experience and raise awareness for other people in a similar situation, her legal team said.