Blog

The national living wage is a crude and ineffective way of raising careworker pay, says Simon Bottery. We need a better way of doing it, linked to wider social care reform.

How can NHS services use their facilities to better support social prescribing? Ben Collins highlights what’s needed to make NHS sites more welcoming spaces for individuals and communities.

Who were the winners and losers in the Chancellor’s autumn Spending Review? Siva Anandaciva looks at what the government’s plans promise for health and care.

Simon Bottery identifies 12 different perspectives on adult social care – and argues reform needs to accommodate as many as it can.

As the Comprehensive Spending Review approaches, Simon Bottery says social care has a strong case for extra investment but may need to address the ‘p’ word – productivity.

Digital tools and services are increasingly being used in health and care, but what happens to all the data that is collected, who should have access to it and who decides? Pritesh Mistry outlines the value of trust and transparency in these complex agreements

How will the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review address the short-term and long-term needs of the health and care system, especially when the future is so uncertain? Jonathon Holmes considers the Chancellor’s options.

Providing joined-up services that address people’s physical and mental health needs has long been a challenge. Jihad Malasi asks whether primary care networks could be the answer to providing holistic primary care mental health services.

Helen Gilburt reflects on the experiences of staff and people with mental health problems during the first months of Covid-19 and urges mental health services to learn from those experiences to plan for the future.

The Covid-19 outbreak has exposed gaps in psychosocial support for health care workers. Mary Docherty, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London, considers the action needed to address those gaps and meet the needs of the workforce in the future.

A resilient health and care system is about more than national action. Sally Warren shares a vision for building local resilience that would allow the health and care system to respond effectively to future crises.

Charlotte Augst, Chief Executive of National Voices, and Dan Wellings, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund, make the case for including communities using services in the Covid-19 response.

As the social care sector continues to feel the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, social care reform is once again up for debate. Sally Warren outlines why any reform must have the needs of service users and staff at its heart.

Much media attention has been paid to how acute services are tackling Covid-19, but what about community health and care services? Anna Charles considers the impact of the outbreak on these often overlooked services and the role they might play in the next phase of the response.

Covid-19 demands that there is closer working between care homes and the NHS to support residents to be safe and well. Researchers Adam Gordon and Claire Goodman reflect on the messages they are hearing from care home staff about what support is needed.

As health and care services rapidly transform to tackle the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, Sally Warren considers the value of working with and within communities to drive change, drawing on the lessons learnt in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy.

The response to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has shown examples of real community spirit and collaboration, as well as revealing some deep-rooted differences between the NHS and the social care sector, as Richard Humphries explores.

The Grenfell tragedy and its aftermath have revealed that public sector organisations do not always adequately serve local communities. In this guest blog, authors from Grenfell United reflect on the importance of sharing stories and real engagement at all levels to build trust and ensure meaningful support.

The rise in the national living wage will stretch adult social care beyond its limit, says Simon Bottery. More money – and a more strategic approach to the social care workforce – is needed.

New standards aim to improve urgent care in the community, but how easily can they be delivered? Anna Charles considers how workforce, social care and the pace of change might pose challenges for implementing these welcome plans.