Over the past year the news has been consistently featuring stories about the crisis in Accident and Emergency departments across the country. Despite Clinical Commissioning Groups and Acute Hospital NHS Trusts beginning their contingency planning for the ‘winter pressures’ as early as August last year there was still a crisis with A&E departments and staff […]

Happy New Year to you All! Well January has arrived with chill winds and resolutions to change, made in the headiness of celebration, still on our lips. I have come to believe that human beings are generally an optimistic species, even counting the sceptics among us! With the dawning of every new year people everywhere […]

Well we are nearly at the end of another year and the ‘season of goodwill to all’ is upon us. Timely, therefore for us to be considering what the central principle of The Care Act 2014, ‘wellbeing’ is and how in reality this will change how organisations and practitioners approach needs assessment and service provision. […]

L I know that at the end of my last blog I said that I would be looking at the central principle of the Care Act – ‘wellbeing’ and I will pick this up next month. However, this month I had an experience of being on the ‘other side of care services’ and it reminded […]

As the season of party political conferences is upon us, where politicians make extravagant promises that we know will soon disappear like the early morning autumn mists, I thought I would take the opportunity to start a conversation about something that all political parties have been able to agree upon. I’m talking about the radical […]

Below are some useful links to related Health and Social Care websites. Oxford University Press Educational publisher of textbooks, software and online resources from Primary to FE available to buy online. global.oup.com Care UK Care UK is a leading independent provider of health and social care. Working in partnership with local authorities, primary care trusts and […]

  In my last couple of blogs I have written about the subject of spirituality or more broadly speaking those things that give meaning to a person’s life and which they draw upon to give them strength when they are faced with challenges and difficult times in their life. This month I want to think […]

Last month I wrote about the importance of finding out about someone’s spirituality to help you provide good quality personalised care and support. I wrote about the need to consider spirituality in its widest context so that we could better understand a person’s values, beliefs and motivations. Knowing what gives meaning to a person’s life, […]

  In this month’s blog I would like to raise the subject that is often overlooked when caring for and supporting people. Although it appears as a question on every admission and assessment form, the space for the response is all too often left blank or has minimal information that really doesn’t tell you very […]

There has been a lot happening in health and social care over the past year and it is hard to keep up with all the changes. As part of your responsibilities as a health and social care worker in whatever role or setting you work, you are required to actively continue your professional development. That […]