May 2013
incorporating
no.204 • £4.75
The Number One magazine for the care sector
Leaders back call for rating system return By Dominic Musgrave THE industry has welcomed the findings of a report which has called for a return of a rating system for care homes. The Nuffield Trust was commissioned by Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt MP last November to review whether ‘Ofsted-style’ performance ratings of provider performance should be used in health and social care. Chief executive Dr Jennifer Dixon said the analysis in the ‘Rating providers for quality: a policy worth pursuing?’ report suggests a gap has arisen in information for the public since quality ratings were abolished. She added: “The information that does exist is spread across a number of sources, which may reduce its impact and use by the public. One aggregate, comprehensive rating of providers may provide more clarity and simplicity for the public, especially if it came from one ‘official’ trusted source.” RNHA chief executive Frank Ursell supported the report’s findings, but he did have concerns about the CQC’s role in running it. He added: “Whilst we can see why the Nuffield Trust has suggested that the CQC should be the body that runs the new system – a
proposal the Health Secretary appears to have accepted – we can perhaps be forgiven, on the basis of the CQC’s past performance, for having reservations on that score. “It should be borne in mind that the CQC swiftly and rather unceremoniously abolished the ratings system that the previous regulator had introduced. We hope that the creation of the post of chief inspector of social care to oversee a new system, albeit presumably under the umbrella of the CQC, will overcome our past disappointments.” Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of ECCA, also welcomed the possibility of new ratings. He added: “Nuffield rightly reflects that there is a real desire for quality ratings in social care. We regret the speed with which the former star ratings system for social care was discarded and the gap in knowledge that this has left for people seeking care services. “A national and independent approach to the assessment of quality, over and above essential standards, is necessary and can be used by state commissioners and individuals and their families alike. We hope the government will respond with a strong vision for the future on care quality.”
Painting stars at antiques event
Former cricket umpire Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird MBE OBE unveiled a plaque to officially open a new £5m care home in his home town of Barnsley. Silk Healthcare’s Mapplewell Manor is a purpose-built, new residential 83-bed care home and senior day centre specialising in dementia care. The new facility will create approximately 90 full and part-time jobs to the area over the coming months. The majority of the funding to support the construction was provided by RBS, with a £500,000 grant coming from the Government's £1bn Regional Growth Fund.
STAFF and residents at a Norfolk care home welcomed over 50 people as they threw the doors open for their annual ‘Antiques Roadshow’. Mayor of Attleborough Samantha Taylor was guest of honour for the event at Brooklyn House, with the star item on the day belonging to the home’s manager Sarah Taylor, who discovered that a painting bought at a car boot sale could be worth a considerable amount of money. “I couldn’t believe the valuation,” she said. “My Mother bought the painting a few years ago. I just brought it in to get the day going, so to get that valuation was a very pleasant surprise. “Our residents and their relatives loved seeing the expert valuers in action. It is so important to everyone at Brooklyn House that the home plays an active part in local life, so we always enjoy hosting these events.” A similar day is planned in October.