RECENT NEWS

Labour has called for the UK government to create a ‘Chief Care Officer’ position in a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock that sets out six action points to address the growing Covid-19 crisis faced by social care.

Cloud-based software provider Sirenum has built a free app specifically to help care homes manage staff during the Covid-19 crisis.

Care providers warned fresh Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Office for National Statistics data showing the number of deaths in care and nursing homes from Covid-19 could be below the true figure.

Care homes urgently need more input from GPs and other community clinical leaders to ensure front line managers can cope during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the National Care Forum (NCF).

Contract cleaners Swish Clean has completed a decontamination programme free of charge for a nursing home in South Gloucestershire amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Representative body Care England has called for urgent action after receiving member feedback that some local authorities are requiring providers to accept Covid-19 positive individuals to receive emergency government funding.

Trade body Independent Care Group (ICG) has warned social care providers may go bust in the coming weeks unless the UK government steps up funding for local authorities to tackle Covid-19.

Beautiful South stars Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott are to give a special one-off gig in Sheffield this October only available to care workers.

Surecert has beaten off competition from 1,600 other projects to be awarded a UK government grant to develop a digital platform to connect people with care job and volunteering opportunities during Covid-19.

A digital media academic has launched an crowdfunding initiative to provide hand-held digital devices to help residents living in care home isolation communicate with their loved ones.

Constantia Healthcare director Anthony Massouras has acquired the Queens Lodge nursing home in the Lancashire town of Blackburn from private owners.

Four in five social care workers are expected to leave their jobs due to low pay amid the increased risks posed by Covid-19, according to the GMB trade union.

The UK government has launched a recruitment campaign to boost the adult social care workforce in England as part of a wider plan to attract more staff into the sector.

Octopus Real Estate has strengthened its care home fund management team with the appointment of Chris Wishart as director of origination.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has urged the UK government to boost carer pay as one of five recommended ‘core guarantees’ for the workforce amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UK government should remove the funding barrier between the NHS and social care by introducing new tax measures to increase the provision of free care, according to a new report by the Policy Exchange thinktank.

Barwood Capital and Perseus Land & Developments have acquired the Ashley House care home near Guildford in Surrey from private owners for £2.5m.

Montreux Healthcare Fund has acquired a pair of care homes in the Kent coastal village of Dymchurch.

Social care provider Precious Homes has appointed Fergal Cawley to be its chief executive in a promotion from his former role as chief financial officer (CFO).

Care UK has filed an application with Cheshire East Council to build a 60-bed care home near the centre of Wilmslow in north-west England.