Society daily 07.07.11

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Today's top SocietyGuardian stories • NHS waiting times increase for diagnostic tests • Judge fears for elderly after woman denied night care • Shoppers asked to donate food to poor • MPs issue warning over council audit plans • Mhemooda Malek: Mental health provision is failing black and minority ethnic young people • Melanie Henwood: Dilnot presents an indisputable case for reform • Alzheimer's tests should be offered to over-60s, says top psychiatrist • Stopping smoking when already pregnant can boost baby's health All today's SocietyGuardian stories Other news • Community Care: Cuts to adult social care to worsen next year, warns Adass • BBC: Heart disease deaths highest in north-west England • Telegraph: Legal drug Benzo Fury linked to seven deaths this year • Independent: Heart tsar quits with attack on ministers • Inside Housing: Shapps pledges to cut waiting lists • Third Sector: Charities must be allowed to campaign, Sir Stephen Bubb tells committee of MPs • Conservative home: Pickles urges outsourcing to Tyneside not India On my radar ... • The supreme court ruling that has huge implications for social care costs . Former prima ballerina Elaine McDonald yesterday lost a court battle for an overnight carer to give her "dignity and independence". She had argued that the care package she received from the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea, to cover her assessed needs during the day and night, should include assistance at night to use a commode, but the case was dismissed in a 4-1 majority ruling. Dissenting judge Lady Hale has since spoken about her fears that older people "might be left lying in faeces" because local authorities would be entitled to withdraw help. Writing for our Joe Public blog, Age UK's Stephen Lowe says dignity must be a consideration in such cases . He writes: "This verdict has important implications for everyone who relies on local authority support to remain independent, particularly as councils are making unprecedented cuts. If local authorities can reduce care and support to a level needed to just keep people safe, it raises the spectre of care services becoming increasingly limited to the bare minimum needed to warehouse people in their own homes. This should, surely, be unacceptable in a civilised society. What we need is a clear statement, in legislation, that defines the basic quality of life that society believes people should be able to achieve." On her Benefit Scrounging Scum blog, Kaliya Franklin says the crux of the decision lies in the questions of what we think is an acceptable way to treat older, disabled and sick people : "The answer from the courts is damning to us all. It says that as a country we find it acceptable to leave our elderly people, our disabled people, our sick people lying in their own piss. All night. Even when that person is not incontinent and only requires a few moments assistance from another person to ensure their dignity and comfort. Is this what we want for our mothers and fathers? Is it what we want for our grandparents? For a generation who fought for all our freedoms? Is this what we want for ourselves? Even if you don't really care about sick or disabled people one day we will all be old. We will all be vulnerable. We will all learn the lessons of powerlessness, of how it feels to have our lives held in an uncaring hand." Franklin also directed me to this sad story from the Scotsman, which reports that care watchdogs are investigating claims that disabled residents at a supported-housing complex have been told to train themselves to go to the toilet at fixed times to fit in with a strict new rota. • The Royal British Legion, which has dropped the News of the World as its "campaigning partner" over the phone hacking scandal . A statement published on the legion's site today says it has suspended all relations with the newspaper as allegations that bereaved military families' phones were hacked are investigated. An RBL spokesman said: "We can't with any conscience campaign alongside News of the World on behalf of Armed Forces families while it stands accused of preying on these same families in the lowest depths of their misery. The hacking allegations have shocked us to the core." Meanwhile key advertiser Mitsubishi has announced it is donating what it would have spent on advertising in the News of the World to ChildLine. • The Afiya Trust, which today publishes a new report on black and minority ethnic children and young people's mental health and questions whether services are meeting their needs. The report's author, Mhemooda Malek, writes for us today: "A short review of relevant policies and programmes indicates that BME children and young people have not been given due focus and attention in policy, planning and provision of services. There is a lack of evidence about their needs and the ability of mainstream services to provide culturally sensitive and responsive interventions and approaches. It is also unclear the extent to which national programmes and initiatives aimed at prevention and early intervention are able to engage and effectively address the needs of BME children, young people and their families." On a related note, thanks to the Broken of Britain for sharing this link to a trailer for a really interesting sounding documentary, Coloured My Mind , set for a release later this year. The film looks at "Mom Warriors" fighting autism spectrum disorders and looking at inconsistencies in diagnosis and treatment in the black community. • New research which finds that health care staff are failing to spot signs of domestic violence in their patients. The research by a team from from the Academic Unit of Primary Health Care at the University of Bristol, is being presented today at the 40th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Academic Primary Care in Bristol. The study found that between six and 23& of women had experienced physical or sexual abuse from a partner or ex-partner in the last year, and women experiencing violence were more likely to be in touch with health services than any other agency, but they were rarely asked about domestic abuse by the doctors and nurses treating them. One told researchers: "nobody ever asked me. Never. I've got bruises round my neck and so stressed out and never asked 'what's happening in your life?' or 'why have you got these bruises?' I just want someone to say 'so what's going on?' and I would just sit there and cry". The women said they wanted their GPs to help lead them to other support services, rather than try to persuade them to leave their violent partners. • Romantic fiction, which according to broadcaster and agony aunt Susan Quilliam is perpetuating women's idealised views of love and sex . Writing in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, Quilliam says romantic books are contradicting sexual health messages: "I would argue that a huge number of the issues we see in our clinics and therapy rooms are influenced by romantic fiction. What we see ... is more likely to be influenced by Mills and Boon than by the Family Planning Association. Clearly those messages run totally counter to those we try to promote." On the Guardian Professional Networks • Live Q&A from 1pm: Training for social enterprises • Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of charity Kids Company, urges health service staff to treat vulnerable youngsters with love, rather than box ticking • Technology now enables you to give to your favourite charity every time you shop online – at no extra cost to yourself – thanks to afinity and affiliate marketing SocietyGuardian blogs Patrick Butler's cuts blog Joe Public Sarah Boseley's global health blog SocietyGuardian on social media Follow SocietyGuardian on Twitter Follow Patrick Butler on Twitter Follow Clare Horton on Twitter Follow Alison Benjamin on Twitter SocietyGuardian's Facebook page SocietyGuardian links SocietyGuardian.co.uk Guardian cutswatch - tell us about the cuts in your area Public Leaders - the Guardian's website for senior managers of public services The Guardian's public and voluntary sector careers page Hundreds of public and voluntary sector jobs SocietyGuardian editor: Alison Benjamin Email the SocietyGuardian editor: [email protected] SocietyGuardian.co.uk editor: Clare Horton Email the SocietyGuardian.co.uk editor: [email protected] Interested in education policy and news too? 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