NHS
Health and care reform challenge 'greatest since welfare state creation'
Health and social care face the ‘greatest reform challenge since the creation of the welfare state,’ the chief executive of the NHS Confederation has said.
Delayed transfer punishments 'frankly bizarre'
The country’s most senior care director has rebuked attempts to penalise cash-strapped councils over delayed transfers of care (DTOC).
Winter is coming – but don’t overlook the other pressures
Raise the profile of social work, cut out the arguments with health and stop getting sidetracked by the ever looming winter pressures, says Margaret Willcox as she speaks to Sam Clayden ahead of the National Children and Adult Services Conference.
Willcox: Focus on delayed transfers is short-sighted
The emphasis on delayed transfers of care (DTOC) and looming winter pressures is ‘short-sighted’ and arguments with the NHS are a ‘waste of time,’ a senior social care director has warned.
Cornwall may take over CCG's management
NHS England might ask Cornwall Council to take over the management of a clinical commissioning group (CCG), a damning report has revealed.
Welsh councils bemoan 'catastrophic austerity'
A seeming increase in Wales’ public sector budgets masks the ‘catastrophic impact that eight years of austerity have had on local public services,’ the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has warned.
Long-term solution call after mortality study
Social care directors have urged ministers to finance a long-term solution to delayed discharges after a damning study linked the issue to increased mortality rates.
Care ‘catastrophe’
Friction rises as council leaders warn over Whitehall’s threats to withhold bed-blocking cash.
DCN in prevention precept call
District councils have called for the introduction of a new health precept on council tax to raise £25m for preventative measures.
Welsh councils call for end to cuts
Welsh council leaders have called for an end to the ‘relentless cuts to public services’ after a new report highlighted the scale of shrinking budgets.
London: it’s a tale of two cities
London is not just Parliament or City Hall. The capital’s 33 boroughs all have very different needs and inequalities in resources must be addressed in a more balanced way, writes Cllr Teresa O’Neill.
Health and care 'pretending' they are fully integrated system
A senior health figure has warned that fundamental barriers to integration remain amid warnings the NHS is gearing up for its most severe winter yet.
Don't let the Government divide and rule health and care
NHS Providers' Saffron Cordery calls for unity between health and social care as the Government seeks to drive a wedge between the two sectors.
County call for targets rethink
Councils have called for the Government to rethink a threat to strip them of promised cash if they fail to meet ‘undeliverable and arbitrary’ targets.
Stephenson steps down after post axed
Derbyshire CC’s chief executive has stepped down after the council agreed to abolish the post along with that of assistant chief executive and strategic director of corporate resources.
Care directors' warning after record bed blocking figures
Council directors have issued fresh warnings after a record proportion of delayed transfers of care were put down to social care.
Councils win legal battle with health boards
Health boards in Wales ‘misinterpreted’ the law over who is responsible for paying for nurses to deliver social care in residential homes, a court has ruled.
Good health starts at the district level
John Fuller reveals plans to open a conversation with government and the NHS about ‘prevention precept’ that recognises districts' role in reducing demand in the care system.
Whitehall told social care must become 24/7 sector
Social care services need to become ‘more flexible’ to ensure an ‘effective and integrated urgent and emergency care system,’ the Department of Health has been told.
‘Unacceptable’ changes sees LGA withdraw support for guidance
The Local Government Association (LGA) has withdrawn its support from the Better Care Fund (BCF) planning requirements – the latest indication of deteriorating relations between the two sectors.