Society daily 02.06.11

Sign up to Society daily email briefing Today's top SocietyGuardian stories Care home abuse: ministers move to restore confidence Panorama care home investigation prompts government inspections Fears for elderly as biggest care homes firm faces breakup Leader: Residential care is in a decrepit state Decriminalise possession of drugs, celebrities urge government Why are some mentally ill patients treated like criminals? UK green spaces worth at least £30bn a year in health and welfare Eric Allison: Prisons must stop locking the media out All today's SocietyGuardian stories Social care in crisis: Castlebeck and Southern Cross There's been some excellent blog commentary on the Castlebeck and Southern Cross scandals. Craig Dearden-Philips, who founded a successful advocacy charity for learning disabled people, and worked in a care home in his twenties (and whistleblew on abuse while he was there) says there are no easy solutions to the the problems of institutional abuse: "No, it isn't just about public-private. It is about mission and leadership. It is about focus on what matters. If these places are run according to imperatives beyond providing best-service, things slide." Mark Brown on Independence Red says listening to the voice of patients is a key factor ( via @Kloseali ), while Andrew Simpson draws atttention to a post he wrote over a year ago warning that care was being undermined by the reluctance of care providers to employ trained NHS learning disability nurses. On Facebook, Action on Elder Abuse examines the failure of the Care Quality Commission and says: "Perhaps, in the interim, care providers should pay their registration fee to a reputable media company. Because, if you consider the recent 'Which magazine' report, and some of the regional broadcasts about quality of care, the media seems to be doing a better job at focusing upon standards at the moment than CQC." Juliet Michaelson on New Economics Foundation reflects on the inadequacies of the Southern Cross model of care (via @itsmotherswork ), while it's worth linking again to Connor Kinsella's excellent post on why the kind of abuse uncovered on Panorama happens. Fighting Monsters has been reflecting more on the Castlebeck scandal, and asks "what makes a good careworker?" Blogger Sharon Brennan on Diary of an NHS Buff examines the role of the CQC: "The question is: how many other units have passed a CQC inspection are also hiding dark secrets? The Guardian runs two powerful commentaries, from my colleague David Brindle , and professor Jim Mansell, who argues that at the heart of the Castlebeck scandal is the "wrong model of care" . In the Daily Telegraph City reporter Graham Ruddick asks: is the city fit to run a care home? , while in its leader the paper writes: "If the measure of a civilised society is the standard of care we afford the vulnerable and the old, we are falling far short." In the Independent, economics editor Sean O'Grady predicts that Southern Cross won't be the last private provider of public services that needs to be bailed out , while the paper's leader column argues that the elderly and vulnerable must be protected "at all costs" . Tighter financial regulation and inspection is needed in the care sector in return for state guarantees that care will be provided, but the assumption that the state should be the sole provider of care is "a dangerous one, it writes. The Daily Mail calls the Castlebeck revelations "a Dickensian scandal for the 21st century" . It also lays into "city predators" and "private equity giants" who "filled their boots and walked away" leaving Southern Cross in crisis. In its leader it says: "When will the City learn that its predatory, unethical greed plays into the hands of Left-wingers who say the private sector can't be trusted with social care? On my radar ... • This fascinating post by blogger Andew Grant-Adamson, which asks: "Has BT gained too much infuence in local government" ? It examines the pivotal role of the company in municipal reform in Suffolk, Barnet and elsewhere, and its bid to "win the hearts and minds" of senior public servants. See also this post on the same subject by blogger Broken Barnet. • NHS blogger Paul Corrigan who wonders if the NHS reforms will solve the "value for money problem" identified by the prime minister. He reports from a seminar at which the financial stresses on the NHS were outlined, and relects on how NHS managers anticpated the pressure would be lifted: "The learnt behaviour of NHS economics was that institutions could expect, at some time towards the end of the year, to be bailed out of their deficits with extra money. And that is the expectation now. The idea that the cavalry will arrive bearing bags of gold is still there." • Blogger We Love Local Government, who examines why even Eric Pickles has to acknowledge the limits of localism (at least when it comes to deciding where to dump 250,00 tons of nuclear waste). • Ann Furedi writing about why the British Pregnancy Advice Service (which she heads) wasn't invited onto the government's new sexual health advisory group (but a pro-Life campagn group was). • The Guardian's NHS reform blog, which is asking, topically, could you be a whistleblower? We've also launched a whistleblowing tool , which allows you to report (anonymously) abuses and failures in health and social care. Other news • The NHS must "reform or die," the health secretary Andrew Lansley has written in the Daily Telegraph , in a defence of his controversial reforms. The paper reports that it will "serve as a warning" to cabinet critics who suggest Lansley might be sacked over his handling of the changes. • Lansley's spin doctor, Jenny Jackson, has been "muzzled," reports the Independent, after the Liberal Democrats objected to her alleged rubbishing of Nick Clegg in briefings to journalists. • The government's white paper on reforming public services - expected in January - has been put off until July, amid fears that its proposals to transfer more state provision to the private and social enterprise sectors will prove politically toxic, reports the Financial Times (registration). • The FT also reports (registration) that "tens of thousands" of public sector workers are likely to opt out of their pension scheme when the government introduces a three percentage point increase in their contributions from next April. • Another London council is considering introducing charges for admission to a children's play park , reports Liberal Conspiracy blog. On the Guardian Professional Networks Government Computing The first job for the government's new 'skunkworks' team, which aims to develop new IT systems quickly and efficiently, will be a new online petitions system Public Leaders Public sector procurement consultant Colin Cram asks if the government has moved the goalposts on NHS reform Healthcare Social media offers huge opportunities to help patients become informed activists , says Jenny Hyatt, chief executive of BigWhiteWall.com, an organisation working with NHS trusts to provide online emotional health services Voluntary Donors who promise their assets to charity but keep the benefits until death present a useless proposition to voluntary agencies, writes Joe Saxton, founder of nfpSynergy Social enterprise Social entrepreneur and chairman of LNT Group Lawrence Tomlinson tells us how any company can generate social good 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 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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