Care news

Immigration and how we value low-paid work | Letters

23-02-2020 18:09

Given the jobs are vital and the vacancies are high, Jill Wallis cannot understand why social care work is so poorly paid, and frequently referred to as “low-skilled”. Plus letters from Harvey Sanders, Frank Land and Dena DarlingReading the series of articles and letters over the last few days on the topic of the government’s proposed new rules for immigration, I am struck by the complete disconnect between the stated importance of some jobs and the status and pay they attract.

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Caring for my brother after his brain injury showed me a world of compassion

23-02-2020 14:00

Seeing the hidden world of care, after my beloved brother’s devastating accident, taught me about people’s remarkable strength and graceI often find myself thinking back to a fairly unremarkable afternoon in 2010. I was sitting in the day room of a care home while my older brother Miles slept beside me, in his wheelchair. Steve, one of the other severely brain-injured residents dotted around the room in wheelchairs, was in distress. His hands were up by his face in tight fists and he

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Social care crisis risks ‘two-tier’ blow to the poor, ministers warned

23-02-2020 08:16

Experts say funding cuts led to care homes closures which only the rich can escapeThe growing crisis in adult social care risks creating a “system for the rich” that leaves poor communities unable to access the essential help they need, ministers are being warned.Two care homes are closing for every new facility that opens as providers attempt to stay afloat amid a multibillion-pound shortfall in funding. However, evidence seen by the Observer suggests places are disappearing from ca

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Hospital ‘bed blocking’ numbers hit highest level since 2017

23-02-2020 08:03

Critics argue NHS is struggling to discharge patients because ofunder-investment in community careThe number of patients stuck in hospitals because they could not be transferred is at its highest quarterly level since 2017, reversing years of progress amid ongoing crises in health and care services.“Delayed transfers of care” – often known as “bed blocking” – rose in the mid-2010s as austerity hit council-run adult-care services, meaning hospitals were unable

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The Observer view on the government’s immigration plans | Observer editorial

23-02-2020 07:02

Britain claims to be open for business even as it makes the country an inhumane place for low-skilled immigrants“Britain is open for business,” Alok Sharma, the new business secretary, declared in an article last week extolling the virtues of the government’s new immigration proposals. Yet just the previous week the government had tried to press ahead with deporting 50 men it described as guilty of “very serious offences” to Jamaica, despite the fact that many had g

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