Society "cannot duck" the issue of adult social care any longer, council leaders have warned, as they called for a debate on the future of services. The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched a public consultation on how best to support the wellbeing of the elderly and disabled and how…

Since announcing last year that it would be closing 12 of its care homes, Bield has this month agreed a deal which sees residents and staff transfer in three of its homes. Following discussions, two of its homes in Edinburgh and one in the Borders are transferring to Mansfield Care.…

Care for patients who are dying is not being prioritised by local health bodies, research suggests. End-of-life care, also known as palliative care, is only prioritised in the strategies of 4% of Health and Wellbeing Boards, according to analysis conducted by experts at King's College London. Meanwhile only half of…

Peers have backed reform of safeguards for vulnerable people detained in care homes or hospitals without the mental capacity to consent to the arrangements. But despite giving the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill an unopposed second reading, they criticised some of its provisions and called for "radical" changes during later stages.…

Barchester Healthcare, one of Britain's biggest care home groups, is to be put up for sale in a deal that could net its owners north of £2.5 billion. The Press Association understands the group's owners - the Irish business tycoons Dermot Desmond, JP McManus and John Magnier - have mandated…

Northern Ireland's Department of Health has announced the appointment of a consultancy to carry out an independent review into care failings at Dunmurry Manor Care Home, focussing on the actions of the Health and Social Care system. The Department has appointed CPEA, an independent consultancy company which specialises in social…

A "morally bankrupt" care home owner who took millions of pounds from wealthy pensioners has been jailed for 21 years. David Barton, 64, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday for what Judge Steven Everett described as the "most brazen" case of fraud he had ever seen. He was…

Thousands of people with learning disabilities are "trapped" in institutional care and are having their "human rights routinely ignored", MPs have heard. Lib Dem former health minister Norman Lamb warned that more than 2,400 people in hospitals and care homes across the UK were being treated as "second class citizens".…

The NHS will be able to make decisions to deprive people of their liberty under new law, health officials have announced. The current Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) system has been heavily criticised, with a Government-commissioned review in 2017 calling for the system to be replaced as a matter of…

Health and social care organisations are prioritising individual performance over patients, the health watchdog has warned. Local leaders should be incentivised to work together and judged on how well the system as a whole is meeting the needs of elderly people, according to a report by the Care Quality Commission…

The independent quality regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), has published a new series of resources – ‘Learning from safety incidents’ – to help those in charge of running health and care organisations ensure the safety and well-being of people using their services. Developed to share common critical issues initially…

A partnership offering specialist courses to healthcare staff has been signed between the University of Wolverhampton and Compton Care. The courses provide opportunities for healthcare professionals to further develop their knowledge and skills and to gain a recognised qualification. The University of Wolverhampton works in collaboration with Compton Care, a…