Better Care Fund extended for 2019/20
The Better Care Fund, which provides financial support for councils and NHS organisations to jointly plan and deliver local services, along with helping people to leave hospital sooner to get the care they need at home, will be renewed for 2019 to 2020, ministers have confirmed. Pooled funding for the initiative will be over £6.4bn. The government […]
Social care to benefit from £37m Digital Innovation Hubs
Plans to transform the way scientists access health data are being backed by £37 million of Industrial Strategy government investment, to pioneer new, faster treatments for patients and new cures for diseases. The new centres across the UK – known as Digital Innovation Hubs – will enable scientists and innovators to access data from the […]
Mixed reception for plan to secure the future of social care
A controversial proposal has been put forward by the Rt Hon Damian Green MP to secure the future of social care. A Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) report, ‘Fixing The Crisis,’ argues that the current system has many flaws, is unfair and actively discourages local councils from investing in social care and housing for the […]
£1.5m funding available for medical device innovations
A new competition has been launched by the that aims to provide SMEs developing medical technologies the chance to apply for a share of £1.5 million to help evaluate medical devices in real-world clinical settings. The government says Life sciences is one of the defining industries of the UK, with over 5,000 companies and 250,000 […]
£4.8m available for local digital adult social care projects
Organisations that provide and commission adult social care services have been invited to bid for a share of £4.8m to roll out local digital projects on a wider scale. Applications for the Social Care Digital Pathfinders grant are open for existing products and services that have already been piloted in small local areas, or […]
Councils urged to back public call to end the crisis in social care
Momentum is growing behind free personal care for the over 65s in England, with Independent Age calling on local councillors to support the movement. Health care leaders have been longtime advocates of free personal health care to the over 65s, something that is available in Scotland, but as yet not in England or Wales, where […]
DfE ‘does not fully understand’ children’s social care demand and costs
The National Audit Office says the Department for Education does not fully understand what is driving demand for children’s social care. It’s latest report also says the DfE is unclear as to why there is such wide variation between local authorities in their children’s social care activity and costs, as it has not yet done […]
Government releases £3.5bn for primary and community care
More NHS patients will be cared for at home and in their community to avoid them going into or staying in hospital unnecessarily, the Government says. During a visit to a north London health centre, the Prime Minister set out a major new investment in primary and community healthcare – which it claims is worth […]
Extra NHS and social care spending a ‘sticking plaster’
Chancellor Philip Hammond used his budget speech to announce that local authorities in England will receive a further £650 million in social care funding next year – but reaction from health bosses has been mixed. In addition, the NHS budget will increase by £20.5 billion after inflation by 2023-24 – within this, the NHS will […]
Medics call for social care funding gap to be plugged
A group of the UK’s leading medical and healthcare groups have written an open letter to Chancellor Philip Hammond stating that patients will be left ‘stranded in hospitals and GP waiting rooms’ unless the social care funding gap is plugged. The letter, which states that without extra funding for social care and public health services […]
