Month: July 2019

State of Caring Survey 2019: A snapshot of unpaid care in the UK

Carers UK, July 2019

The State of Caring Survey is the UK’s most comprehensive research into the lives and experience of carers. This year over 7,500 current carers shared their experiences and helped inform our State of Caring 2019 report. Key findings include:

  • almost 2 in 5 (39%) carers saying that they are struggling to make ends meet 
  • over half of carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance (53%) are struggling to make ends meet
  • shockingly, over two thirds of carers (68%) regularly use their own income or savings to pay for care or support services, equipment or products for the person they care for
  • 1 in 8 carers (12%) reported that they or those they support received less care or support services during the previous year due to a reduction in the amount of support from social services
  • 53% of carers said that they are not able to save for their retirement
  • almost two thirds of carers (64%) say that they have focussed on the care needs of the person they care for, and not on their own needs.

Click here to view the full report.

Left to their own devices: Young people, social media and mental health

Barnardo’s, July 2019

Using the internet and social media is an important part of life for children and young people. It can be a positive opportunity to learn, to connect with friends and family and to have fun. However, internet use can also expose children to dangers, such as cyberbullying, online grooming and sexual abuse. At the same time, mental health conditions are on the rise with recent data showing that 1 in 8 children and young people between ages 5-19 in England have a mental health problem.

This report gained insight from 80 practitioners across more than 30 Barnardo’s services in the UK. It found:

• Half of these practitioners responding said they had worked with children aged five to 10 who had been exposed to unsuitable or harmful materials online, and more than one third said children in that age group had been victims of cyberbullying.

• When it comes to 11-15 year olds, 79% of practitioners responding said children they work with have experienced cyberbullying. Some practitioners highlighted that cyberbullying had led to self-harm and suicide.

• 78% of practitioners responding also said they had worked with children in this age group who had been groomed online and 78% also said they’d worked with children in this age group who had accessed unsuitable/harmful content.

Click here to view the full report.

Skills, attitudes and behaviours that fuel public innovation: A guide to getting the most from Nesta’s Competency Framework for Experimenting and Public Problem Solving

Nesta, July 2019

Governments around the world are exploring what it means to actually ‘do’ innovation in the public sector. We all know that getting innovation to happen, to really stick, in a web of government bureaucracy and shifting political sands takes more than a few post-its. It involves a lot of other skills and underlying attitudes. Working with a mix of international innovation practitioners to design a competency framework we looked at what it takes to successfully solve public problems. It includes important but often less championed values, from curiosity to empathy, or skills like creative facilitation and systems thinking, that need nurturing and adopting in the institutions that run our lives.

Click here to view the report.

Being fair: Supporting a just and learning culture for staff and patients following incidents in the NHS

NHS Resolution, July 2019

A just and learning culture is the balance of fairness, justice, learning – and taking responsibility for actions. It is not about seeking to blame the individuals involved when care in the NHS goes wrong. It is also not about an absence of responsibility and accountability. It highlights the need for the NHS to involve users of care services and staff in safety investigations. This NHS Resolution report focus’ on supporting a just and learning culture for staff and patients following incidents in the NHS.

Click here to view the full report.

Why it’s important to review the care of people with dementia: What the data and people’s experiences tell us about social care reviews, reassessments and their outcomes for people with dementia

Healthwatch, July 2019

This Healthwatch report summarises data and people’s experiences about social care reviews, reassessments and their outcomes for people with dementia. On the basis of analysis of data from 97 local councils, the report finds people are not getting what they are entitled to.

Click here to view the full report.

Inquiry into decent and accessible homes for older people

All Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People, July 2019

All Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People report following an in-depth inquiry to understand the detrimental impact of poor housing on older people’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. An estimate of some of the costs of poor housing for the NHS suggests £1.4 billion per year. The report contains 13 recommendations that look at the impact of poor quality, inaccessible housing on health, issues in supported housing and the private rented sector and the importance of home improvement agencies.

Click here to view the full report.

Role and Responsibilities: Adult Principal Social Worker (PSW)

Department of Health and Social Care, July 2019

This guidance sets out the role, function and purpose of a PSW in adult services.It helps support employers when recruiting to the role of adult PSW and clarifies what social workers and other practitioners can expect from the PSW in their organisation.

Click here to view the guidance.

Capability Statement for Principal Social Workers in Adult Services

Department of Health and Social Care, July 2019

The capability statement sets out what a PSW in adult services should know and be able to do to ensure that effective professional social work practice is developed and supported within their organisation. It aims to support a move towards consistency in scope, autonomy, influence and impact of the PSW role across the whole sector.

Click here to view the statement.