Prison Population At An All Time High
The number of prisoners in England and Wales has reached a new all-time high, just two months after Home Secretary John Reid asked judges to send only the most serious offenders to jail.
Read MoreThe number of prisoners in England and Wales has reached a new all-time high, just two months after Home Secretary John Reid asked judges to send only the most serious offenders to jail.
Read MoreA hospital criticised for its “chaotic and despicable” care of three elderly patients had been deficient for a number of years, a report says. Coroner John Pollard attacked Tameside General Hospital following inquests into the deaths of three patients.
Read MoreFlintshire Council is inconsistent in its social services for children but the signs are that the authority is well placed to improve, according to a review undertaken by the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales.
Read MorePeople from some black and minority ethnic groups were three times more likely than average to be admitted to mental health hospitals, results of a national census have shown.
{mosimage}It is the second year that the national ‘Count Me In’ census has shown significantly higher rates of admission and detention among some black and minority ethnic groups. The census has prompted calls for the introduction of mandatory reporting of ethnicity for all patients using mental health and learning disability services, not just those admitted to hospital.
The Count Me In Census 2006 was a joint initiative by the Healthcare Commission, the Mental Health Act Commission and the National Institute for Mental Health in England.
The census aimed to provide accurate figures on the numbers of inpatients in mental health and learning disability services in England and Wales on one day and to encourage service providers to collect and monitor data on the ethnic groups of patients.
The census is one of the three key building blocks of the government’s five-year action plan, “Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care”.
Read MoreLives could be lost if first-aid teaching is reduced in schools, health charities warned last night. Proposed changes to the personal and social education courses in schools include removing first aid at key stage four, and downgrading it to a skill that could, rather than should, be learned at key stage three.
Read MoreDeputy Health Minister and Minister for Older People, John Griffiths AM, have launched a report setting out the next phase of the 10 year Strategy for older people in Wales. The strategy was originally launched in 2003 and has been backed by a total of £13m from the Assembly Government.
Read MorePeople in Northern Ireland at risk from hate crime are being offered extra protection – including personal and home alarms and 24-hour access to the police – as part of a government initiative responding to alarming rises in such incidents.
Read MoreAlarm has been expressed at a 37 per increase in the suicide rate in the North over the past year. In the latest mortality statistics there were 291 registered suicides in 2006 compared with 213 in 2005.
Read MoreUrgent action is needed to tackle homelessness and the serious shortage of affordable homes in Wales, the Archbishop of Wales told the Welsh Assembly Government yesterday.
Read MoreSocial Services chiefs in Leeds have received 114 complaints about home care services provided by private companies. Part of the city’s home care work is contracted out to the private sector and figures presented to councillors show that between April last year and January this year, the council received a total of 114 complaints about services provided by six companies.
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