The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its annual State of Care report, which this year reveals and compares the quality of health and social care in England both before and after the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. The major report shows that, in the period before the full impact of Covid-19 was felt, care...
New scheme launched for care home visits
A new scheme to enable people to safely visit their loved ones in care homes is to be trialled in England. The pilot scheme will allow a family member or friend to regularly visit a care home resident providing they follow the same rules laid out for staff regarding weekly testing and wearing PPE....
Calls to end school mental health support ‘lottery’
A new study has called for better mental health support in schools in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown. Released just ahead of World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10th October, the study from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that fewer than half of state schools in England...
Dyslexia Week celebrates creative power of dyslexia
It’s Dyslexia Week 2020, focusing on the theme of #DyslexiaCreates, which explores the creative power of dyslexia to drive ideas, organisations and society. The British Dyslexia Association is marking Dyslexia Week from 5th-11th October this year, looking at the invaluable contribution that dyslexia makes to the UK while also acknowledging that dyslexia can also...
Life in lockdown: NSPCC sees 50% rise in domestic abuse concerns
The NSPCC has revealed that calls to its helpline about children living with domestic abuse have risen by nearly 50% since lockdown was introduced. Figures from 1st April to 31st August 2020 show that there were more than 4,500 calls made to Childline by members of the public concerned about children living in homes...
HSE focuses on respiratory risks
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has begun a month-long targeted inspection initiative, focusing on respiratory risks in the construction industry. The workplace health and safety watchdog will be visiting construction firms across Britain to check up on the measures they have in place to protect their workers from substances such as asbestos, silica...
IOSH calls for government to invest in workplace health and safety
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is calling on the government to invest in occupational safety and health (OSH) as it combats the Covid-19 pandemic. The world’s largest professional health and safety body has submitted proposals to the UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review which frame OSH as key to battling the pandemic...
CQC report reflects on infection control during Covid-19
In the latest in their series of Covid-19 Insight reports, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is focusing on infection prevention and control across health and care settings. England’s care watchdog has been publishing Insight reports in a bid to keep people working and living within health and social care settings safe and supported throughout...
NHS Covid-19 app launches in England and Wales
The government’s new contact-tracing app has been officially released and everyone living in England and Wales is being urged to download and use it. The NHS Covid-19 app is designed to be used by all those over the age of 16 with a smartphone and records a user’s postcode district, informing them of the...
Keeping health workers safe, keeps patients safe
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has helped to promote a key message about how measures to keep health workers safe will also protect patients. IOSH recently joint hosted a webinar with the World Health Organization (WHO) to reflect on World Patient Safety Day (WPSD). Coming at such a critical time during...
Adult social care workforce grows by 9%, new report shows
A new report from Skills for Care has shown that the number of adult social care jobs in England has increased by 9% since 2013. The annual ‘Size and structure of the adult social care workforce in England’ report found that there were 130,000 (or 9%) more jobs in the sector in the year...
Britain has seen ‘explosion’ in anxiety in past decade, study reveals
A new study has found there has been an “explosion” in the number of people experiencing anxiety in Britain since 2008. One of the biggest studies of anxiety undertaken in recent years indicates that the mental health problem has trebled among young adults and now affects 30% of women aged 18 to 24. Rates...