Read on to learn more about the latest developments in care services, medical research and awareness initiatives
Welcome back for the December edition of Care Sector News Review.
With everyone preparing for Christmas, it’s been a quiet month in terms of awareness initiatives. But, some important steps have been made in medical research, while the care sector has received a boost in terms of funding and quality standards.
Read on to learn more about the latest developments in care services, medical research and awareness initiatives.
Care services
- Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Local Government, has set out plans for local authorities to be given authority to increase council tax rates in order to raise money for adult social care in the region.
- Joint investigations into complaints regarding health and social care have proven highly beneficial, according to a new report from the Local Government Ombudsman and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
- The National Quality Board has published a framework designed to benchmark quality criteria across all national health organisations — the first such move of its kind. The framework will provide a national definition of quality for use in medical and social care.
- CMA, the competition watchdog, has launched an investigation into hidden charges, unexpected bills and confusing top-up payment requests in care homes following complaints and previous reports from national bodies, including Citizens Advice Bureau.
- The Care Quality Commission has invited care professionals and the general public to give their views on how adult social care can be made more targeted, responsive and collaborative.
Medical research
- A newly discovered genetic disease could be the catalyst for debilitating brain conditions that affect older people, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The discovery raises the possibility of new forms of treatment in future.
- Parkinson’s disease may originate in the gut, according to new research published in science journal Cell. Scientists in California say the development opens up an “exciting new avenue of study”, which could result in the development of probiotic preventative medications.
- Alzheimer’s disease could soon be detected using a simple sniff test, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. When paired with a cognitive test, this method has proven to be 87% effective at diagnosing the condition in trials.
- A new method of treating people with Parkinson’s using ultrasound radiation could cure tremors without the need for invasive brain surgery, human trials at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have indicated.
- Dementia could be made as manageable as HIV is now is by 2025, Prof. Bart De Strooper — the recently appointed director of the UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) — has asserted.
Awareness initiatives
- ‘Decembeard’ is a month-long challenge that sees men of all ages grow out their beards to raise awareness and money for bowel cancer research. People who can’t or don’t want to grow facial hair can join in with a cut-out-and-wear fake purple beard.
Join us again at the end of January for the first Care Sector News Review of 2017.
If you would like to find out more about how The Good Care Group work to improve care standards across the industry, contact our friendly team.
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