This year, Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday 13th to Sunday 19th May and focuses on the theme of body image. The annual awareness week, hosted by the Mental Health Foundation since 2001, will look this year at how we think and feel about our bodies and raise awareness of how body image worries […]

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has accused the government of showing “utter complacency” on fire safety in schools. It comes as the government admitted that just 15% of new school buildings are being fitted with sprinklers to tackle fires, despite the fact that the FBU has advised that all “newly-built schools and other high-risk buildings […]

A new report from the Children’s Commissioner suggests that many children in England face a “postcode lottery” when it comes to mental health care. Figures suggest that, overall, spending on children’s mental health services, such as school counsellors and drop-in centres, has risen by 17%. The report found, however, that specific areas spending high sums […]

It is estimated that more than 9,000 safeguarding concerns have been raised in relation to older adults at risk in Hertfordshire in the last 12 months, representing a record high. Data suggests that the county recorded a total of 9,609 adult care safeguarding concerns during 2018-19. This amounts to an average of 26 concerns being […]

The beginning of April marked the start of National Stress Awareness Month 2019 in the UK. Held every April since 1992, Stress Awareness Month is designed to increase public awareness of stress, including its causes and solutions. The Stress Epidemic The Stress Management Society says we are experiencing a “modern stress epidemic,” citing research from […]

New government proposals for tackling “online harms” such as grooming include an independent watchdog and code of practice for internet sites. The Online Harms White Paper, jointly published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Home Office, suggests that websites should be fined or blocked if they fail to protect […]

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) have reached a new agreement about how they will work together to promote the safety and wellbeing of people receiving NHS care in England. The formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement, published last week, is underpinned by three basic principles: They will respect […]

Two decades after the use of asbestos was banned in Britain, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned that there are “no excuses” for firms who fail to manage exposure to the deadly substance. Asbestos was banned in 1999, but remains present in at least half a million buildings in Britain, which […]

Skills for Care have launched a new online guide to help adult social care providers improve their services. The ‘Guide to Improvement’, published this week, provides a comprehensive toolkit to help organisations identify, plan and implement improvements to ensure they are delivering high quality care and support, and meeting regulatory standards. The development of the […]

A review has found that social care professionals failed to take sufficient steps to prevent the murder of a young man with learning disabilities, despite having “the knowledge, legal means and opportunity,” to do so. Phillip Nicholson was killed in 2015 by Isabella Gossling and Richard Moors, who are currently serving a total of 41 […]