During the lead up to the Autumn Statement everybody involved with Adult Social Care was convinced that the Chancellor would take the opportunity of outlining how he planned to do something about the funding of Adult Social Care which the Care Quality Commission had identified within their publication of the State of Care Report on 13th October, was at a â?€?œtipping pointâ?€?. Sadly, that was not the case. A joint letter has been sent to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health and Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which can be read here

In what appears to be somewhat less than the objectivity one might expect to see from the Competition and Markets Authority, they are undertaking a market study into care and nursing homes for the elderly with the focus on whether people feel they may have been treated unfairly by a care or nursing home ? this could be because of concerns about the fairness of the care home?s contract (terms and conditions) or because they think the care home has behaved in an unfair or misleading way, before or after they moved in.

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For more details of the study and how to contribute, see: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/care-homes-market-study

The Department of Health has announced a new interim standard rate of ?156.25 a week for funded nursing care provided in care homes, an increase of ?44.25 on the current rate. ?Based on recommendations from Mazars, the independent accountancy firm commissioned to review what it actually costs care homes to provide nursing care, the new rate is being backdated to 1st April 2016. ?The RNHA is calling for NHS clinical commissioning groups to make the payments without delay. ?Click here for the Department of Health announcement. ?Click here for the full Mazars report.

"What's the catch?" is the RNHA reaction to the Department of Health's announcement of an uplift in the NHS contribution paid to cover the cost of nursing provided to both local authority-funded and self-paying residents of care homes. "We welcome the fact that a detailed review of actual nursing costs in care homes has led to an increase in the weekly amount to be paid - from £112 to £156.25," said RNHA chief executive officer Frank Ursell. "On the face of it, this is a step in the right direction. But we have concerns about the fact that the increase is described as an interim award, which according to the Department of Health could be reduced for some nursing home residents after further analysis of the figures."

A free resource pack for helping care home providers to improve medicines management and maintain safe working practices is now available.? This? follows collaboration between several major national bodies, including the RNHA and other members of the Care Providers Alliance, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the RCN.? The final report from this joint project, which has been supported with funding by the Department of Health, is also available. ?

Most of the care home residents who took part in a study by the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the University of Kent told researchers that their actual experience of living in a care home had been better than they expected.? Funding for the study was provided by the RNHA and the Department of Health.? Click to download a copy of the full report or a summary version.

NHS dental services need to become more easily available to care home residents if their oral health is to be improved in future years, says the RNHA. It wants the government and the dental profession to come up with specific plans to help care homes assess the oral health needs of newly admitted residents, maintain good oral hygiene for all their residents, and guarantee prompt and effective dental treatment when required. Responding to guidelines published this week by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) on the oral health of adults in care homes, RNHA chief executive officer Frank Ursell said care home managers and staff need more expert help and advice on how best to keep their residents free from tooth decay.