Get up to speed with all the latest care sector news from March 2018, including new dementia research initiatives, charity events and care sector developments.
Welcome to Care Sector News Review, March 2018 edition.
Here, we’ll provide you with a selection of the most compelling care sector news stories to hit the headlines during the last month.
Read on to find out what’s been happening across the care sector in March 2018:
Care services
- Hundreds of pharmacists have been mobilised to check every UK care home amid fears elderly residents are being over-medicated. With prescriptions for certain drugs doubling within a decade, NHS chief Simon Stevens believes this is impacting quality of life and increasing hospital admissions.
- Almost 1,000 elderly people each day are expected to be taken into hospital following a fall within the coming year, according to new research. The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for additional investment into effective fall prevention programmes.
- 40% of national care home bed capacity has been rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘in need of improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In Manchester – which just became the ‘first age-friendly city region’ – this rate was 43%, putting the authority among the 20 worst performers.
- 85% of the public is concerned about the frequency of negative stories regarding care homes in the national media. 76% of respondents to the Care Protect study didn’t believe care homes were doing enough to ensure the safety and welfare of residents.
Medical research
- £40m has been pledged by the Government for the construction of a new Dementia Research Institute (DRI) Hub at University College London. Scheduled to open in 2023, this advanced research centre is part of the Government’s pledge to double dementia research funding.
- Alzheimer’s Research UK have announced record year-over-year growth of 38%, achieving a total income of £30.5m during 2016/17. This was thanks largely to a 44% increase in voluntary donations from the public; a rise 11 times that of the sector average.
- The Accelerating Medicines Partnership on Parkinson’s disease research project – a new collaborative initiative sponsored by the US Government – has been hailed as the most ambitious attempt yet to find a cure for the condition.
- Doug Brown, Alzheimer’s Society chief policy and research officer, has called for further research into effective dementia care techniques to work alongside efforts to find a cure. Less than 5% of dementia research funding is allocated to developing specialist care methods at present.
Awareness initiatives
- Two month-long cancer research and care fundraising initiatives took place during March. Millions of people donned a lapel badge to show their support for the Marie Curie ‘Great Daffodil Appeal’, while others pledged to take 10,000 steps per day to raise funds for ‘Walk All Over Cancer’.
- 19–25 March marked National Conversation Week 2018; an event that encourages people to set aside time to put down their devices, reach out and have an actual conversation. This annual event is the perfect opportunity to speak with an elderly relative or friend and help keep loneliness at bay.
- World Oral Health Day took place on 20 March; a day dedicated to raising awareness of key dental health risk factors and effective ways to maintain oral hygiene. Poor dental health is a prevalent issue among older people, and can lead to detrimental health effects such as an aversion to eating.
Join us again in the last week of April for the next edition of Care Sector News Review.
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