NEWS SIXTH TSA ACCREDITATION WIN FOR HOMECALL


HomeCall, part of Coast & Country Housing, has once again been recognised by the industry watchdog for the quality of its service.


For the sixth consecutive year, the Telecare Services Association (TSA) Code of Practice was awarded to HomeCall following a rigorous independent inspection, which confirmed that all areas of the business – referral, 24-hour call monitoring and warden response service – were being carried out to the highest standard.


The high volume of cases that HomeCall were involved with in


2013/14 contributed to its success at gaining accreditation. The company dealt with a total of 75,265 calls over the course of the year, 98% of which were handled within one minute. Plus, staff carried out 2,787 emergency visits at an average response time of 14.5 minutes.


All emergency calls are handled by HomeCall’s 24/7 contact centre, based at Coast & Country headquarters in Redcar, however, the service incorporates the entire Tees Valley.


Jason Lowe, Head of Independent Living Services at HomeCall, said: “The TSA Code of Practice award is only


LACK OF INTERNAL PROMOTIONS FOR SOCIAL WORKERS


Social care organisations appear to offer plenty of opportunities for progression, yet fewer people are climbing the career ladder within just one organisation, according to new research from specialist recruiter Randstad Care.


A survey of 2,000 UK staff revealed that the average social care organisation contains 5.7 layers of management, compared to an average of just 4.4 across UK companies.


However, 64% of job openings in the social care sector are currently filled


with external talent, compared to just 42% across the UK.


Victoria Short, Managing Director of Randstad Care, commented: “It may seem strange for a recruitment firm to red flag the trend that more social care organisations are recruiting external talent, but it’s important to have a balance of internal progression and external talent from both a continuity and quality of care provision.


“More needs to be done to improve both perception of the varied and long-term career paths available, but


care providers also need to ensure they have the career development and talent management plans in place to hang on to a significant proportion of their best people.”


Victoria Short added that the complexity of social care requires organisations to have extra layers of workers: “The more layers care providers can afford, the more robust safeguarding, supervision and compliance in the sector will be – which will ultimately raise standards of care,” she said.


GPs OFFERED £55 FOR EVERY DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS seems to be rewarding poor GPs.”


Family doctors will be paid £55 for every dementia diagnosis they make under a new controversial scheme announced by NHS England.


Leading GPs have condemned the plan as an “ethical travesty” which amounts to a system of “cash for diagnoses”.


The payment has been launched as part of NHS England’s ‘Dementia Identification Scheme’, designed to help achieve the Government’s target of diagnosing two-thirds of people with dementia by 2015.


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Dr Iona Heath, former RCGP president and a GP in north London, told Pulse magazine: “I think the proposal is an intellectual and ethical travesty.”


Under the new scheme, doctors would receive £55 for every extra patient given a diagnosis of dementia between September 2014 and March 2015.


Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, said: “This is putting a bounty on the head of certain patients. Good GPs will be diagnosing their dementia patients already. This


Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society, was surprised by the Patients Association reaction to the incentive: “It is shocking that the Patients Association seems to be acting against the interests of some of our most vulnerable people. There is a long tradition of supporting GP practices to tackle neglected areas. People worried about their memory and their carers deserve that support.”


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given to the providers that maintain the highest of standards. With the HomeCall service retaining it for the sixth consecutive year, it is clear that Coast & Country, as one of a small number of elite providers of telecare services nationally, and the only accredited organisation in Redcar and Cleveland, is setting the standards.”


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