Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Carer'.
Found 164 results
-
Content ArticleThis PowerPoint presentation summarises the research approach taken by Sarah Balchin, Associate Director of Community Engagement and Experience and Chief Nurse at Solent NHS Trust, for a study into the experience of family carers. The interpretative phenomenological analysis looked at the lived experience of family carers who adopted the role abruptly after a sudden change in the physical health care needs of a family member.
-
Content ArticleFor patients living at home with advanced illness, deterioration in health can happen at any time of the day or night. This research report funded by the charity Marie Curie looks at issues faced by people with advanced illness and their informal carers in accessing out-of-hours care. The report highlights new evidence on out-of-hours care, based on: UK data on out-of-hours emergency department attendance among people who are in the last year of life. interviews with health professionals about out-of-hours services across the UK. a patient and public involvement (PPI) workshop.
-
News Article
Devon carer who murdered woman had violent crime history
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A carer who murdered the elderly woman he was employed to look after had a history of violent crime including actual bodily harm, a report found. A safeguarding adults review over the death of a 77-year-old Devon woman in 2021 criticised working practices among organisations involved in her care. Devon and Cornwall Police did not disclose information about domestic abuse callouts involving the killer in a DBS check by the care provider. He was jailed for life in July 2022. The woman had seen her killer as "a grandson" figure, it said. The 35-year-old killer attacked his victim after she discovered he had stolen several thousand pounds from her. The had no previous employment experience of care before being taken on as her sole carer by Complete Quality Care Ltd, an independent care provider. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 November 2022 -
News Article
Northern Ireland carers 'suffer shocking levels of poor health'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Unpaid carers in Northern Ireland are suffering from "shocking levels of poor health", according to the charity Carers NI. In a survey of more than 1,600 unpaid carers across Northern Ireland, more than a quarter of respondents described their mental health as bad or very bad. One in five carers said the same about their physical health. The survey also found some 40% had not had a break from caring during the previous year and 23% said support services in their area did not meet their needs. Tracey Gililand, from Portadown, cares for her two disabled sons and said families like hers have been all but forgotten since the beginning of the pandemic. "Carers are still having to ask for the full return of much-needed day care and respite services and it feels like we've been left to paddle our own canoes with no help," she said. "No one knows our struggles, the many sleepless nights and exhaustion during the day. The impact on carers' mental health. The isolation that families like us experience that no one else sees," Ms Gililand explained. Carers NI said it has called for a legal right to social care support for all unpaid carers, the appointment of an independent carers' champion to advocate for carers to government, and wider transformation of the health system. Craig Harrison from the charity said carers had been "driving themselves into the ground", and were physically exhausted and in a state of constant anxiety. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 November 2022 -
News Article
State of social care in England ‘never been so bad’, social services boss warns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The state of social care in England has “never been so bad”, the country’s leading social services chief has said, with half a million people now waiting for help. Sarah McClinton, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), told a conference of council care bosses in Manchester: “The shocking situation is that we have more people requesting help from councils, more older and disabled with complex needs, yet social care capacity has reduced and we have 50,000 fewer paid carers.” Over 400,000 people rely on care homes in England and more than 800,000 receive care at home. But care services are struggling with 160,000 staff vacancies, rising demand and already tight funding for social care that is being squeezed by soaring food and energy inflation. About a third of care providers report that inability to recruit staff has negatively affected their service and many have stopped admitting new residents as a result. Last month the Care Quality Commission warned of a “tsunami of unmet care” and said England’s health and social care system was “gridlocked”. Problems in social care make it harder to free up beds in hospitals, slowing down the delivery of elective care. “The scale of how many people are either not getting the care and support they need, or are getting the wrong kind of help, at the wrong time and in the wrong place is staggering,” said McClinton, who is also director for health and adult services in Greenwich. “It is also adding to the endless pressures we see with ambulances and hospitals, and adding to the pressures we see in our communities, more people requesting help with mental health and domestic abuse.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 November 2022 -
Content ArticlePeople who provide care unpaid for a family member or a friend due to illness, disability, or mental health provide a vital role bridging gaps in state-funded support. But despite the laudable policy statements in support of carers, this Nuffield Trust report looking at the policy history and latest data shows that the reality for unpaid carers has been one of diminishing help over time.
-
News Article
Social care ‘on its knees’ as vacancies hit record high
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Social care services face an “absolute crisis” over record vacancies as unfilled jobs have risen by more than 50% in a year, a new analysis reveals. New data on social care workers shows at least 165,000 vacancies across adult social care providers at the end of 2021-22. This is the highest on record according to the charity Skills for Care, which has collected the data since 2012. Leading think tanks have warned the figures to point to the “absolute crisis” facing social care with the “system on its knees”. At the same time the demand for care has risen, highlighting that social care is facing a complex challenge with recruitment and retention which will be impacting on the lives of people who need social care. The annual report by Skills for Care predicts social care services will need an extra 480,000 workers by 2035 to meet the demand but could be set to lose 430,000 staff to retirement over the next decade. Simon Bottery, senior fellow at The King’s Fund, said the report was evidence “of the absolute crisis social care faces when trying to recruit staff, a crisis that has profound consequences for people needing care”. He added: “A key reason for that is pay, which continues to lag behind other sectors including retail and hospitality, as well as similar roles in the NHS. Our recent analysis found that nearly 400,000 care workers would be better paid to work in most supermarkets." Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 October 2022 -
Content ArticleThis report from Skills for Care provides a comprehensive analysis of the adult social care workforce in England and the characteristics of the 1.50 million people working in it. Topics covered include recent trends in workforce supply and demand, employment information, recruitment and retention, demographics, pay, qualification rates and future workforce forecasts.
-
Content Article
NHSE - Commitment to carers
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in NHS England
With 1.4 million people providing 50 or more carer hours a week for a partner, friend or family member, carers make a significant contribution to society and the NHS. NHS England has developed 37 commitments to carers spread across eight key priorities, that have been developed in partnership with carers, patients, partner organisations and care professionals. Some of the areas covered include: raising the profile of carers education and training person-centred coordinated care primary care This webpage contains information on: Supporting carers in general practice: a framework of quality markers How to identify and support unpaid carers Supporting commissioners End of year progress summary -
News Article
Social care: 'Jo's care will cost £1.5k a week - the system is broken'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
It was only a year ago that Boris Johnson stood up in Parliament and said he was going to fix the long-term problems in social care. He announced a new tax - to raise about £12bn a year - would be spent on health and social care costs only. But the UK's new prime minister, Liz Truss, has already scrapped the plan. Families, carers and care providers have been left asking where the funding will now come from to fix a system, which they say is broken. Dr Jo Wilson was a high-flying international executive before she was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, aged 66. Her husband, Bill, insists he's her husband, not her carer. But he now sees to Jo's every need. Bill has had to find fight and persistence to navigate the world of dementia care. "It took me two years to get a care package in place for Jo," he explains. "And I only got that because Jo had a collapse at home and was taken into hospital." Even after it was confirmed Jo could have carers come to their home to help, Bill found the variety of staff, unreliable time keeping, and a lack of understanding of dementia, left him questioning whether it was worth it. He's now permanently exhausted, and frustrated. Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, says without a complete restructure of the social care system "thousands, if not millions, will be left without support, and the NHS will be on its knees". It is a warning heeded by others. A new poll by Ipsos Mori for BBC News, suggests more than 70% of those over 55 are not confident that social care services will provide care to those in need. More than half of responses cited staff shortages and limited public funding as their main concerns. Care providers say it's these issues that are putting them under extreme pressure. "We know currently that three in five people with dementia do not get the support that they need once they have that diagnosis. And that leads to crisis in care", says Fiona Carragher, director of policy at the Alzheimer's Society." Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 October 2022 -
Content ArticleMany nurses also act as family caregivers, and this study in the journal Nursing Outlook aimed to examine the impact of family caregiving on nurses, their colleagues and the organisations they work for. Nurse caregivers and healthcare organisation leaders completed two surveys about views on family caregiving. The authors found that healthcare leaders perceived family caregiving to have a larger impact on the nurses’ health and work performance than nurses themselves. Family caregiving was also identified as a potential contributor to burnout, and the authors highlight that lack of workplace support for family caregiving may influence nurses decisions about leaving or reducing their role.
-
News Article
‘Perilous’ shortage of homecare workers leaves patients trapped in hospitals
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A “perilous” shortage of homecare workers is the biggest reason thousands of people are languishing longer in hospital than needed, driving up waiting lists and making people sicker, figures reveal. Almost one in four people unable to be discharged – sometimes for weeks – were trapped in hospital because they were waiting for home care, as agencies hand back contracts because staff are quitting owing to low pay, leaving 15% of jobs vacant. A fifth of people unable to be discharged were also waiting for short-term rehabilitation and 15% were waiting for a bed in a care home, according to analysis of data obtained using freedom of information requests and public records by Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation. It estimated that in April this year, one in six patients were in hospital because of delayed discharge, and the discharge of patients with a hospital stay of more than three weeks was delayed by 14 days on average. “People are ending up in hospital for malnutrition and dehydration, problems which, even if you supported people a little bit at home, would stop,” said Jane Townson, the director of the Homecare Association. “More providers are having to turn down work than usual and some are having to hand back people because they can’t do it.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 October 2022 -
Content ArticleWhen leaving hospital with medicines, there can be a lot of information to take in. This checklist designed by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) is designed to help patients and their carers use medications safely when they leave hospital. It includes: Questions to consider before you leave hospital Questions to consider when you’ve left hospital Further useful resources Medicines safety and governance pharmacist Jen Flatman has written a blog about how the checklist was developed.
-
Content ArticleSpecialised services typically care for small numbers of patients with rare or complex conditions. They are commonly overlooked in debates around the future of the NHS. This is despite costs growing by over 50% in eight years, and now exceeding £20bn per year. The spotlight is returning, with proposals from NHS England to change how these services are planned, with power and responsibility being devolved down to new Integrated Care Boards – sub-regional structures across England. This report sets out a series of recommendations which Policy Exchange believe should underpin these reforms, including refinement of the services into more logical groupings, an expanded role for patient and carer input into service design, and stronger ministerial and financial oversight to ensure the sustainability of service delivery for the longer term.
-
Content ArticleNot knowing how to unfold or even sit in a wheelchair the right way can cause a catastrophic injury to patients, visitors, volunteers, and staff of a healthcare facility. Wheelchairs are one of the most common assistive devices used in healthcare facilities, from admission to discharge. They are often found at the entrance of a facility for use by both patients and visitors with mobility issues. Hospital volunteers, transport staff, and clinical staff use wheelchairs to take patients to different care areas to have tests performed. Many facilities require that patients be transported in a wheelchair upon discharge. However, not knowing the proper method of unfolding a wheelchair or where to place your hands when sitting down in the seat can cause injuries, specifically to fingers, ranging from lacerations to amputations.
-
Content ArticleFor people who have been diagnosed with dementia, accessing post-diagnosis support can be challenging, particularly when the systems meant to provide support are confusing, limited or in some areas, non-existent. The World Alzheimer Report 2022 looks at the issues surrounding post-diagnosis support, a term that refers to the variety of official and informal services and information aimed at promoting the wellbeing of people with dementia and their carers. This report explores the aspects of living with dementia following diagnosis, through 119 essays written by researchers, healthcare professionals, informal carers and people living with dementia from around the world. These expert essays are accompanied by the results of a survey carried out in May 2022, with responses from 1,669 informal carers in 68 countries, 893 professional carers in 69 countries and 365 people with dementia from 41 countries.
-
Content ArticlePerceptions of care work as low skilled continue to persist, despite the pandemic highlighting just how vital care workers are. In recent years there has been increased debate around the ‘professionalisation’ of this staff group, which generally refers to the creation of a statutory register of staff and their professional regulation. This new Nuffield Trust report reviews what the evidence shows about the professionalisation of care workers in other countries.
-
Content ArticleCall 4 Concern enables patients, relatives and carers to call for help/advice from the Acute Intervention Team when they are concerned about a patient’s condition, and/or they feel that their concern is not being addressed by the ward team. County Durham and Darlington share their Call 4 Concern leaflet.
-
Content ArticleThis article discusses how medication safety can be improved in Canada. It explores the complexities of aging, what can go wrong with medication, 'Best Possible Medication Histories', the role of pharmacists and paramedics, engaging with patients and their families, and improving communication across the healthcare system.
-
Content ArticleThe Quality Network for Inpatient Working Age Mental Health Services (QNWA) based within the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Centre for Quality Improvement are pleased to announce the publication of their 8th edition standards. Since the publication of the first edition standards in 2006, the Network has grown to include over 140 members from the NHS and private sector. This new edition of standards aims to reflect the changes in working practices and legislation over the last two years in addition to placing greater emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusion as well as sustainability in inpatient mental health services. The eighth edition standards have been drawn from key documents and expert consensus and have been subject to extensive consultation with professional groups involved in the provision of inpatient mental health services, and with people and carers who have used services in the past.
-
Content ArticleCall 4 Concern is a patient safety initiative enabling patients and families to call for immediate help and advice when they feel concerned that they are not receiving adequate clinical attention. Here is the University Hospitals Sussex Trust's leaflet.
-
Content ArticleCall for Concern is a patient safety service for adult inpatients, families and friends to call for help and advice if you or your family are concerned that there is a noticeable change or deterioration in condition. This service is delivered by the Critical Care Outreach team who are available 24 hours a day to help support ward teams in the care of acutely ill patients. We also offer emotional support to patients and their families who have recently been discharged from the Critical Care Unit as this can be an anxious time. When can I call? After you have spoken to the ward team or doctor but feel the healthcare team are not recognising or responding to your concern. If you have been a patient in Critical Care and are experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, bad dreams, low mood or feeling emotional.
-
Content ArticleFrimley Health has launched a new service for members of the public to independently raise concerns if they believe a patient’s clinical condition is deteriorating. The Call 4 Concern programme enables friends, relatives – and the patients themselves - to make a direct referral if their concerns have not been alleviated by first speaking to the medical team. The Trust’s critical care outreach practitioners will then review the patient, liaise with the medical team and take any appropriate action. At Frimley Park Hospital, call 07717 303231. At Wexham Park Hospital call 07909 930728. The Call 4 Concern programme is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has previously been successfully implemented by several other NHS organisations.
-
Content ArticlePeople with living dementia or mild cognitive impairment and their family carers face challenges in managing medicines. This review, published in Age and Ageing, identifies interventions to improve medicine self-management for people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment and their family carers, and the core components of medicine self-management that they address.
-
Content ArticleThis report published by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) looked to identify and explore remediable factors in the clinical and organisation of the physical healthcare provided to adult patients admitted to a mental health inpatient setting. The report suggests that a physical healthcare plan should be developed when patients are admitted to a mental health inpatient setting. Other key messages aimed at improving care include calls to: formalise clinical networks/pathways between mental health and physical health care; involve patients and their carers in their physical health care, and use admission as an opportunity to assess and involve patients in their general health, and include mental health and physical health conditions on electronic patient records.
