The BBC’s Health Correspondent, Nick Triggle, reports on plans to ease the pressure on hospitals by providing vulnerable patients with better support in the community. Social care workers and NHS staff will be available seven days a week when the new scheme comes into play. It is part of the government’s strategy to combine the NHS and council-run social care systems: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29823763

This guide, Commissioning independent advocacy, produced by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), is aimed at commissioners charged with meeting the new duties to provide advocacy under the #CareAct2014. It will help commissioning officers in local authorities think through their new duties and understand what they are required to do to comply with the new requirements of the Act.

http://www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/advocacy-services/commissioning-independent-advocacy/

Skills for Care and the National Skills Academy for Social Care, in partnership with The College of Social Work, have produced free learning materials for the adult social care workforce in preparation for the changes required by the Care Act 2014: http://goo.gl/2pGU9C

Embrace-learning and Carers UK have also produced a course about the #careact, entitled The Care Act: Unpacked. For more information, please click here: http://goo.gl/njSiat

Embrace-learning has partnered with Carers UK to provide a full e-learning Care Act training course designed for frontline practitioners and carers.

The Care Act Unpacked can be delivered at any pace and scale required and is suitable for all social care employers.

To view a free demo, please click here: http://goo.gl/WqICKX

To find out more about the course, please click here: http://goo.gl/njSiat

New rules were announced earlier this month for the assessment and management of concussion in professional rugby union. Headway, the brain injury association view this as “another step forward”.

 https://www.headway.org.uk/rugbys-new-concussion-rules-another-step-forward.aspx

For information about our e-learning course Acquired Brain Injury Awareness, please click here: http://goo.gl/fWVDgs

We have a Tumblr blog; a roundup of the week’s news and announcements relating to the health and social care sector:

http://goo.gl/AFvpKZ.

You can follow us on Twitter. Join in discussions, have your say, read the latest news, and find out more about our courses and bespoke services:

https://twitter.com/embracelearnuk

The BBC's Health Editor, Hugh Pym, on the Five Year Forward View. He argues that the most radical proposals are:

- the stripping of out-patient care away from hospitals and into GP practices/clinics.

- the employment of consultants and senior nurses at GP practices

- small hospitals to share administration/HR staff

- hospitals to establish their own GP practices

- developing Accountable Care Organisations (likely from within existing NHS trusts) with

  over-reaching responsibility for local care.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29731646

The first two independent hospitals are in the process of inspection by the commission. Spire Southampton in Hampshire, and London Welbeck are the two in question.

The inspectors will require the same information on performance as it receives from NHS hospitals.

Where failures in care are identified, centres will be required to put in place a plan of improvement. This would be likely to involve further staff training. 

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/first-two-independent-hospitals-inspected-under-new-approach

A Health think tank has published a report on the future of the NHS. Entitled NHS Forward View, it has a twin focus on the need for more funding and radical reorganisation.

A range of measures are suggested, all with the aim of curbing hospital admissions, as well as dealing with the pressure of an ageing population.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29726934

Nick Temple, Business and Enterprise Director at Social Enterprise UK, asks how social enterprises can help deliver the future of health and social care. Social enterprises and charities have a long history of helping to influence support and deliver services across health and social care, including by doing so in partnership.

http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/oct/21/social-enterprises-future-health-social-care

Improving Quality Handbooks produced by the NHS. They aim to provide a combination of guidance, tools and resources that support programme and project delivery from beginning to end in core areas of knowledge management.

http://www.nhsiq.nhs.uk/capacity-capability/knowledge-and-intelligence/iq-handbooks.aspx

Mike Padgham, Chair of the Independent Care Group, stresses that social care must be a general election issue next May. He wants to hear politicians set out real pledges rather than churning out endless reports and statistics, and pointing to commissions.

http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/oct/09/social-care-general-election-political-parties

Care, Work, Sleep, Repeat - a very moving programme about young people who care for parents or relatives - is available on iPlayer now. David Matthews, who looks after his Mum, is one of the carers featured.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04kfgct

Are you ready for the new Care Act?

Carers UK and Embrace-learning have joined forces to develop this key learning resource on The Care Act. With three easy-to-follow study units you will learn about the changes to practice that will happen when the new Care Act comes into force in April 2015.

http://www.embrace-learning.com/the_care_act_2014_e-learning.php

We work with you to design, develop, host and deliver your own online training course(s). Our approach is designed to bring you a highly cost-effective return on your investment in e-learning.

http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk/Website/Pages/Guest/bespoke.php

Respondents ignorant to Simon Stevens’ role and a third believe he has had a negative impact on health service.

http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2014/oct/09/nhs-health-service-simon-stevens-survey

Andrea Sutcliffe, the Care Quality Commission's Chief Inspector of adult social care, has told the BBC that standards in care homes are "not good enough" and in too many cases "awful".

The commission is trying to drive up standards (and its own reputation) by introducing a new rating system, similar to the OFSTED model. Care homes will be ranked as either:

- outstanding

- good

- requiring improvement, or

- inadequate.

A necessary first step towards attaining a high standard is to ensure that ALL staff are working competently and efficiently. Training levels should be reassessed and, where necessary, staff should be given good quality, cost-effective training. #elearning #embracelearning

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29547598

Click below to find out about our Carers UK e-learning Training Pack, which includes 4 course titles:

About me: building resilience for caring

Carer Awareness: supporting frontline practice

Supporting Carers at Work: a line managers' guide, and

The Care Act Unpacked: frontline support for carers.

http://www.embrace-learning.co.uk/Website/Pages/Guest/subscription_offer.php

Following the recent announcement about the use of surveillance cameras in care homes, Stephen Burke asks: “ Why is the CQC doing this? Isn’t it a bit like bolting the stable door well and truly after the horse has fled? Surely the regulator should be about raising the bar for the quality of care and exposing, and then tackling, poor care where it exists.”

http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/oct/08/cctv-care-homes-secret-cameras-improve-care

We round up daily news, reports, and announcements relating to health and social care on our Tumblr blog. Click http://embrace-learning-blog.tumblr.com to follow us and post your comments!

One in three employers have reported an increase in absenteeism attributable to caring responsibilities. Carers UK have estimated that this costs businesses £3.5 billion a year, as well as increasing costs to the economy and to families.

Perhaps revealingly, only 1 in 6 organisations have policies in place to assist workers with their responsibilities.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/06/workers-take-time-off-care-children-elderly-relatives

Find out about our Mandatory Training Pack by visiting: http://www.embrace-learning.com/mandatory_training_pack_e-learning_courses.php or give us a call on

0161 928 9987.

You can pay as little as £1 per learner with our package deals!

Why the new ratings system should take some of the stress out of choosing a care provider.

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/choosing-care-one-lifes-most-stressful-moments-finds-cqc

Leading figures in the health sector have written a letter to the three main political parties, highlighting the plight of the NHS.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29501588

The government have announced that from April 2015, the earnings threshold for Carers' Allowance will be raised by £8 to £110 a week.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/boost-for-carers-from-rise-in-allowance-threshold

A Chair of the Independent Care Group is calling on all political parties to prioritise social care funding. Is this a vote winner?

http://www.careindustrynews.co.uk/2014/10/social-care-must-be-an-election-issue-says-care-group-spokesman/

Public Services - Which?

Have you ever complained about your local hospital, doctors, school, nursery or care home? Join the Which? campaign and make your complaints count.

http://www.which.co.uk/campaigns/schools-doctors-hospitals/#.VCRYVCY2_lc.facebook

To find out about our range of disability and mental health awareness e-learning courses and packages, please visit: http://goo.gl/lHKd01, or give us a call on 0161 928 9987.

A newly qualified nurse (anonymously) speaks out about the lack of specialist mental health training they received. They say that they were given an excellent grounding in dementia care, but little else, adding:-

"Additional training would be helpful."

http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/views-from-the-nhs-frontline/2014/sep/29/not-equipped-treat-patients-mental-health-problems