According to an article in the Independent NHP/HC-One, owner of 236 ex Southern Cross care homes in the UK, has debts of £1.8bn and a parent company that is based in the Cayman Islands.
The article calls for greater transparency in the finances of the private companies that provide care in the UK.
Full article http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/who-owns-the-care-homes--and-why-are-they-so-in-debt-8281273.html
Friday, 9 November 2012
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Goodbye Dame Jo Williams
According to an article in the Independent Dame Jo Williams, chair of the CQC, has resigned due to allegations against her that she tried to have a fellow board member declared mentally unfit in order to avoid criticism of her leadership. For some reason she is staying in post until a replacement is found.
Full article is here
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dame-jo-williams-resigns-as-chair-of-the-care-quality-commission-ahead-of-select-committee-appearance-8117831.html
From our perspective at CareHomeMap we would like to see Dame Jo's replacement get a grip on the information that the CQC produces. Current problems are that lists of new reports are not being published until weeks after they should be (a list of July reports was not made available until early September) and data quality is poor with incomplete and duplicate reports appearing on their web-site.
Full article is here
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dame-jo-williams-resigns-as-chair-of-the-care-quality-commission-ahead-of-select-committee-appearance-8117831.html
From our perspective at CareHomeMap we would like to see Dame Jo's replacement get a grip on the information that the CQC produces. Current problems are that lists of new reports are not being published until weeks after they should be (a list of July reports was not made available until early September) and data quality is poor with incomplete and duplicate reports appearing on their web-site.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
CarehomemapMobile
We've been seeing around 10% of recent use of CareHomeMap is from mobiles so we've created a version that's optimised for a mobile screen.
To use this just click on the Mobile View link next to the CareHomeMap logo.
We'd be very pleased to hear any feedback about this mobile version so if you have any comments please email us at
To use this just click on the Mobile View link next to the CareHomeMap logo.
We'd be very pleased to hear any feedback about this mobile version so if you have any comments please email us at
Friday, 1 June 2012
Continuing use of Star Rating system
A local care home runs an advert in my local paper ever week saying that it has been rated 3 stars excellent by the CQC.
Since then the home has been inspected by CQC under the new Review of Compliance system. The first inspection found concerns in several areas and a second inspection found that these had been addressed. So it's questionable whether the star rating that pre-dates these Review of Compliance inspections should be referred to at all any more.
We've written to the CQC about this and they have said that they will write to the home. Their line is that a home may advertise that they were previously awarded a star rating but not that they are currently.
Since then the home has been inspected by CQC under the new Review of Compliance system. The first inspection found concerns in several areas and a second inspection found that these had been addressed. So it's questionable whether the star rating that pre-dates these Review of Compliance inspections should be referred to at all any more.
We've written to the CQC about this and they have said that they will write to the home. Their line is that a home may advertise that they were previously awarded a star rating but not that they are currently.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Dementia Awareness Week
Hamish Hayes writes about his experience of loneliness and dementia http://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk/guest-blog/dementia-awareness-week/
Local councils are dropping facilities such as lunch clubs as they say that they can't afford them. Haringey council decided last year that it couldn't afford the £171,000 a year that it costs to run lunch clubs out of its £273 million budget. Lorna Reith - the ex deputy leader of the council - made the chilling statement "There will be people who will do without, they will be at home and lonely, but actually they won’t die". http://www.hornseyjournal.co.uk/news/haringey_council_cuts_will_leave_elderly_lonely_but_not_dead_says_deputy_leader_1_778840
Apart from the callousness of this Lorna Reith was obviously not aware of the research that shows links between loneliness and ill health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12324231
The provision of facilities for combatting loneliness and isolation is now being picked up by charities and is also being funded by Big Lottery Fund grants for "good causes"
A befriending scheme for older people has been launched in Wales with funding from the Lottery http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-17182398
And another in Northern Ireland http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18065506
As we like maps there's also a link to a map of loneliness across the UK here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7754861.stm
Local councils are dropping facilities such as lunch clubs as they say that they can't afford them. Haringey council decided last year that it couldn't afford the £171,000 a year that it costs to run lunch clubs out of its £273 million budget. Lorna Reith - the ex deputy leader of the council - made the chilling statement "There will be people who will do without, they will be at home and lonely, but actually they won’t die". http://www.hornseyjournal.co.uk/news/haringey_council_cuts_will_leave_elderly_lonely_but_not_dead_says_deputy_leader_1_778840
Apart from the callousness of this Lorna Reith was obviously not aware of the research that shows links between loneliness and ill health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12324231
The provision of facilities for combatting loneliness and isolation is now being picked up by charities and is also being funded by Big Lottery Fund grants for "good causes"
A befriending scheme for older people has been launched in Wales with funding from the Lottery http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-17182398
And another in Northern Ireland http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18065506
As we like maps there's also a link to a map of loneliness across the UK here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7754861.stm
Rate Your Hospital?
The NHS is planning to introduce a new system to allow patients to rate their hospitals. BBC News are asking for comments about these plans http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18198383
We've been tracking hospital infection counts for the last two years and these can be seen on our Hospital Map page http://www.carehomemap.co.uk/Hospitals.aspx
A recent article in The Independent says that one in sixteen people (6.4 percent) admitted to hospital contracted a super-bug infection. This is an improvement on the 8.2 percent rate that was recorded at the last survey in 2006.
Full article is here http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-challenges-as-survey-shows-hospitals-can-leave-you-feeling-worse-7778653.html
The full report from the Health Protection Agency is here http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2012PressReleases/120523Snapshotsurveyhcai/
We've been tracking hospital infection counts for the last two years and these can be seen on our Hospital Map page http://www.carehomemap.co.uk/Hospitals.aspx
A recent article in The Independent says that one in sixteen people (6.4 percent) admitted to hospital contracted a super-bug infection. This is an improvement on the 8.2 percent rate that was recorded at the last survey in 2006.
Full article is here http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-challenges-as-survey-shows-hospitals-can-leave-you-feeling-worse-7778653.html
The full report from the Health Protection Agency is here http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2012PressReleases/120523Snapshotsurveyhcai/
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
CareHomeMap Regions
After a gap of almost 2 years we have now been able to start showing a map of care quality across the whole of England again.
The Regions page of CareHomeMap www.carehomemap.co.uk/regions.aspx had not been updated since July 2010 due to changes in the way that Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been reporting the results of inspections and due to lack of information about the geographic region that a carehome is in.
After a fair amount of manual work and some deep data mining the Regions page is now displaying information up to end of April 2012.
The Regions page of CareHomeMap www.carehomemap.co.uk/regions.aspx had not been updated since July 2010 due to changes in the way that Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been reporting the results of inspections and due to lack of information about the geographic region that a carehome is in.
After a fair amount of manual work and some deep data mining the Regions page is now displaying information up to end of April 2012.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Yorkshire Building Society
I transferred all of my mother's ISAs into Yorkshire Buildings Society in 2010. I received an annual report from them recently which was addressed to me with the voting form in my mother's name. After reading the report I wanted to vote against the remuneration report but I found a note that said that an attorney can only vote in person at the AGM in Bradford. Here is the letter that I have just sent to the chief executive Chris Pilling: I will add a comment to this post if I receive a reply.
6th April 2012
Mr Chris Pilling
Yorkshire Building Society
Yorkshire Drive
Bradford
BD5 8LJ
Dear Mr Pilling,
Thank you for sending your booklet Have Your Say it’s Easy. On page 19 you say that hearing what I think is extremely important so here are my thoughts:
I am registered with you as acting for my mother under power of attorney. The letter that you have sent is addressed to me and tells me that I am eligible to vote at the AGM and that if I can’t attend the meeting I can vote on-line or by using the attached form. The voting form has my mother’s name on it and says on the back that a member who has granted power of attorney can still vote by post or on-line themselves but that their attorney can only vote by attending the AGM in person.
This information is contradictory and confusing. Please can you clarify which piece of information is correct. If an attorney can only vote in person at the AGM then please can you tell me the reason for this. My mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and I have been appointed to act as her legal attorney in all financial matters. I used this power of attorney to transfer my mother’s cash ISAs to YBS. It would be nonsensical to ask my mother to sign the voting form and I cannot attend the AGM in person. You make a point on page 13 of how your support of the Alzheimer’s Society is one of your highlights of 2011 but in practice you appear to be discriminating against one of your members who has Alzheimer’s by making it extremely difficult for her vote to be counted.
Secondly, in the current financial climate, I am finding it quite difficult to understand how the total director’s remuneration has increased by 20% this year and the non-execs by 15%. I would be interested to know how this compares with the average pay increase for staff. I find it particularly surprising that you were personally paid a bonus of £156,000 in order to compensate for the bonus that you might have received from your previous employer. In my view this carrying forward of bonus is very poor practice and I note that this money which was paid to you in a single day is almost twice as much as your dedicated staff raised for charity in a whole year.
Thirdly, I think that your overall board level remuneration is far too high, particularly as YBS is a mutual society. I would like to introduce a member’s resolution on this matter at the 2013 AGM and I understand that I need the support of 500 members in order to do this. Please could you tell me if I have the right, as the attorney of a member, to obtain a list of other member’s contact details from you so that I can contact them for this purpose.
Finally, I am interested in attending a member’s forum mentioned on page 19. Please can you let me know if I am eligible to attend as an attorney of a member. If I am not eligible then please could you let me know why not.
Many thanks for your consideration of my points.
6th April 2012
Mr Chris Pilling
Yorkshire Building Society
Yorkshire Drive
Bradford
BD5 8LJ
Dear Mr Pilling,
Thank you for sending your booklet Have Your Say it’s Easy. On page 19 you say that hearing what I think is extremely important so here are my thoughts:
I am registered with you as acting for my mother under power of attorney. The letter that you have sent is addressed to me and tells me that I am eligible to vote at the AGM and that if I can’t attend the meeting I can vote on-line or by using the attached form. The voting form has my mother’s name on it and says on the back that a member who has granted power of attorney can still vote by post or on-line themselves but that their attorney can only vote by attending the AGM in person.
This information is contradictory and confusing. Please can you clarify which piece of information is correct. If an attorney can only vote in person at the AGM then please can you tell me the reason for this. My mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and I have been appointed to act as her legal attorney in all financial matters. I used this power of attorney to transfer my mother’s cash ISAs to YBS. It would be nonsensical to ask my mother to sign the voting form and I cannot attend the AGM in person. You make a point on page 13 of how your support of the Alzheimer’s Society is one of your highlights of 2011 but in practice you appear to be discriminating against one of your members who has Alzheimer’s by making it extremely difficult for her vote to be counted.
Secondly, in the current financial climate, I am finding it quite difficult to understand how the total director’s remuneration has increased by 20% this year and the non-execs by 15%. I would be interested to know how this compares with the average pay increase for staff. I find it particularly surprising that you were personally paid a bonus of £156,000 in order to compensate for the bonus that you might have received from your previous employer. In my view this carrying forward of bonus is very poor practice and I note that this money which was paid to you in a single day is almost twice as much as your dedicated staff raised for charity in a whole year.
Thirdly, I think that your overall board level remuneration is far too high, particularly as YBS is a mutual society. I would like to introduce a member’s resolution on this matter at the 2013 AGM and I understand that I need the support of 500 members in order to do this. Please could you tell me if I have the right, as the attorney of a member, to obtain a list of other member’s contact details from you so that I can contact them for this purpose.
Finally, I am interested in attending a member’s forum mentioned on page 19. Please can you let me know if I am eligible to attend as an attorney of a member. If I am not eligible then please could you let me know why not.
Many thanks for your consideration of my points.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Care and Support Alliance lobby parliament over Social Care Provision
There will be a mass lobby of parliament on 6th March 2012 urging the government to reform and fund social care. The lobby aims to "change the way that care is delivered and funded so that it is truly fit for purpose and sustainable for future generations".
Guardian newspaper article is here http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/29/care-older-women-delivering-dignity
Guardian newspaper article is here http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/29/care-older-women-delivering-dignity
Changes to CareHomeMap rating
Until July 2010 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated carehomes with a star system. In order to provide a single indication of how good a carehome was on our map we took the average of the stars that were awarded.
In August 2010 the CQC replaced ratings with a system of outcomes where an outcome indicates a concern about the carehome. Initially we displayed an average of these outcomes on our map but this meant that a carehome could have severe concerns in one area and still be indicated as having no concerns on the map due to averaging. We have decided to change the indicator that we display on our map to show the lowest outcome for the carehome rather than the average.
As always we encourage you to read the full CQC reports, visit the carehome and find out everything that you can about it before making a decision. Any comments as always to
In August 2010 the CQC replaced ratings with a system of outcomes where an outcome indicates a concern about the carehome. Initially we displayed an average of these outcomes on our map but this meant that a carehome could have severe concerns in one area and still be indicated as having no concerns on the map due to averaging. We have decided to change the indicator that we display on our map to show the lowest outcome for the carehome rather than the average.
As always we encourage you to read the full CQC reports, visit the carehome and find out everything that you can about it before making a decision. Any comments as always to
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Head of Care Quality Commission resigns
Cynthia Bower, head of the Care Quality Commission, has resigned after almost 4 years in the job. Full article is here:
http://www.healthcare-today.co.uk/news/head-of-cqc-resigns/21192/
http://www.healthcare-today.co.uk/news/head-of-cqc-resigns/21192/
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
The challenges of cqc data
I passed a care home last week that had a large banner outside saying "awarded the highest possible rating by the CQC". This may have been true once but the Care Quality Commission haven't awarded ratings since July 2010 so it's not very current.
It's a struggle to keep getting the CQC data into a form where we can use it on Carehomemap site. We had to change everything once to decipher the format that was used from August 2010 but CQC changed it again in October 2011 and after this we were not able to get a list of current homes. We requested this information from CQC several times but it took a Freedom of Information request to finally obtain it:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/request_for_a_list_of_all_care_hWe are hoping that the format stays fixed now so that we can continue to use the tools that we have developed to extract it. We think that carehome quality data should be freely and easily available to everyone.
It's a struggle to keep getting the CQC data into a form where we can use it on Carehomemap site. We had to change everything once to decipher the format that was used from August 2010 but CQC changed it again in October 2011 and after this we were not able to get a list of current homes. We requested this information from CQC several times but it took a Freedom of Information request to finally obtain it:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/request_for_a_list_of_all_care_hWe are hoping that the format stays fixed now so that we can continue to use the tools that we have developed to extract it. We think that carehome quality data should be freely and easily available to everyone.
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