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Following a meeting in Scotland, the Five Nations Care Forum is calling for remedial action to the severe underfunding of the social care sector.

People are living longer, often with more complex needs, and demand for care is increasing all the time.

At the same time, the funding of social care across the five nations remains wholly inadequate.  This has resulted in serious constraints on the delivery of social care services to individuals who need state support.

We know that these people want reliable, sustainable services, delivered consistently by people known to them who understand their needs, preferences and aspirations.  The current funding shortage has a number of negative impacts:

State funded support being delivered too little, too late, meaning that opportunities are missed to support people in a way that anticipates their current and future care needs and prevents them receiving inappropriate support
People being admitted to hospital unnecessarily and remaining there too long, resulting in negative impacts on individuals’ health and wellbeing, delays for those who do require hospital support and additional costs being incurred by health services
Staff shortages resulting from low salaries and poor terms and conditions
Providers of social care withdrawing from the market, causing changes in or complete removal of support to individuals who require it
More individuals and their families having to bear the cost burdens and physical, emotional and time outlays of providing care, which will stack up problems for the future.

This is not acceptable for a civilised society – it does not adequately support people’s rights and interests, and undermines the dignity, value and worth of people who need care and support.

Social care is a sector of national strategic importance; being a major employer, providing essential support to […]

Developing a new role for 21st century care
The general policy direction of ensuring more people are cared for out of hospital, combined with the growing number of older people with complex care and support needs, means we need to review how we support these people appropriately, whether at home or in care settings. There are difficulties in both recruiting and retaining nurses in adult social care, resulting in high rates of turnover compared with turn over levels in health care settings. The age profile of the nurse workforce in the  adult social care sector is also ageing meaning nurses retiring in the coming years will add to the turnover figures of registered nurses in social care.

The Five Nations Care Forum wants to see –

Positive messages on, and the development of, career opportunities in the adult social care sector including the consideration of new roles to respond to the increasing complexity of people in care services.
A recognition of the work done by nurses in this sector and the importance of them in supporting people to live good lives in their local communities
Funding for social care that allows parity of pay and terms and conditions for nurses working in Adult Social Care as work in the health sector
Increased nurse student places with an emphasis on placements within the independent  Adults Social Care sector
The continuation of nurses on the Migration Advisory Committee Shortage Occupation List (SOL) with the nurse in social care designated as a specific role.
Recognition of the increasing need for a skilled workforce, and a review of the application of the language test for international nurse recruitment.

Next Five Nations Care Forum will be hosted by the UKHCA and will take place in England in October.

Date:           Monday, 5th and Tuesday, 6th October

Venue:        Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick, Copthorne Way, Copthorne, Gatwick, Sussex, RH10 3PG, England.

DUBLIN, January 29th 2015 – The first national survey to map demographic trends in the provision of specialist long-term care for people with dementia in Ireland has found low numbers of dementia-specific care units (SCUs) throughout the Republic of Ireland.

The study also showed:

Most of the high level care required for the growing number of people now living with dementia in Ireland is provided by the private sector
Significantly fewer SCUs in Leinster (and increased waiting times) compared with other areas

These findings are contained in a new report entitled ‘An Irish National Survey of Dementia in Long-Term Residential Care’, which was launched by Adjunct Professor in Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, Davis Coakley, at an event in the Trinity Long Room Hub today [Thursday, January 29th, 2015]. The report was published by the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre (DSIDC) and the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College.

Commenting on how the Irish findings compare with international practice, lead author, Research Associate Professor Cahill (School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity and Director of the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre), said: “Of some concern is the fact that only 11% of all the Irish facilities surveyed have dedicated dementia units and, despite an expected increase in demand for long-term dementia care arising as a result of population ageing, only a small minority of Irish nursing homes intend opening dementia units.”

There are currently 48,000 people living with dementia and 50,000 carers in Ireland. However, despite a significant increase in the number of people with dementia in Ireland, there is currently a lack of comprehensive information available to both the medical community and families about the state of dementia care nationally. This research, carried out in […]

Results highlight role community pharmacy can play in medicines optimisation for residents with dementia in care homesi
4th June 2014
Published today, results of a large-scale audit of a two year service pilot reveal the positive role specially trained pharmacists can play in collaboration with GPs, nurses and care home workers in better managing the appropriate use of antipsychotic medicines for people with dementia in care homes.

According to the study, through the use of specially trained pharmacists in a pilot service, over one quarter (26%) of residents reviewed did not have any symptoms which necessitated a regular anti-psychotic medication, and in almost two thirds (58%) of cases the risk of the medication was deemed to outweigh the benefit.i In addition, the audit resulted in over 20% of residents having their anti-psychotic dose reduced, and more than 17% realising antipsychotic medication discontinuation.  The audit was undertaken by selected Boots UK pharmacists, some of whom had received additional Alzheimer’s Society training to enable them to better support people with dementia and carers.

Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia at NHS England comments:

“The prescribing of antipsychotic drugs in people with dementia is associated with increased mortality and morbidity.  This exciting publication underscores the key role that pharmacists have in optimising prescription of medication in this potentially vulnerable population.”

The study was commissioned by Boots UK in order to demonstrate the potential added value that community pharmacy can offer, and the significant contribution this service could make to the NHS. The pilot service demonstrates how the commissioning of pharmacy services could help further improve the care of vulnerable patients who live in residential care homes, working in partnership with other healthcare professionals. Since this audit was undertaken, the government has launched […]