As the consultation on the Green Paper closes, Richard Humphries of The King’s Fund has issued a statement asking what could happen next. (13 Nov)

General
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers has announced its backing for a new Credit for Caring scheme giving new support to carers. (09 Nov)

The National Care Forum has launched a briefing highlighting opportunities for residential care home managers to shape the personalisation agenda. (11 Nov)

Carers UK reports that it has taken a Charter to Number Ten calling for action to improve financial support for carers. (11 Nov)

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers has encouraged carers to seek advice on their support entitlements, following the story of a carer being refunded £30 000 by the NHS. (11 Nov)

In response to a review of the use of anti-psychotic drugs to treat dementia, Alzheimer’s Society have stated that the drugs should only ever be used as a last resort. (12 Nov)

Responding to the same report, Skills for Care have said that better training of social care workers is needed. (13 Nov)

General Care
The Daily Mirror writes that town hall leaders have spoken out on the need to reform benefits for carers. (09 Nov)

The Financial Times reports that Lord Joffe and Lord Lipsey have criticised Gordon Brown’s plan to provide free home-based social care for people with high needs. (09 Nov)

The Daily Express covers a survey finding that elderly patients are suffering distress in care homes and hospitals because of staff neglect. (11 Nov)

The Daily Mirror writes that professional carers are to be issued with rules to ensure patients are treated with respect. (11 Nov)

The Financial Times includes advice on getting support for care home fees. (14 Nov)

In The Independent, Emma Wall writes that long-term care is still a postcode lottery.  Ian Cowie criticises the current system and the need for elderly people to sell their homes. (14 Nov)

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Gordon Brown has intervened in the case of a 106-year-old woman being evicted from her care home. (15 Nov)

Dementia in the press
The Daily Telegraph reports on findings that asking patients to take a multi-tasking test can help doctors distinguish cases of depression from early Alzheimer’s. (09 Nov)

The Daily Express covers research finding that weak muscles are closely linked to dementia in elderly people. (10 Nov)

The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror and The Sun report that people with dementia are being wrongly prescribed powerful sedatives, causing 1800 deaths a year. (12, 13 Nov)

The Daily Telegraph reports that Alzheimer’s patients are receiving poor quality care in hospitals. (14 Nov)

The Daily Mail writes that those with good oral hygiene are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. (14 Nov)

The consultation began in July with the publication of the Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care Together. The document spelled out a vision for a new National Care Service for all adults in England that is fair, simple and affordable.The Government then asked public and stakeholders for their responses to the reform options in the Green Paper.

Speaking at the end of the consultation, Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:

"Over the last four months, the Big Care Debate team has travelled the length and breadth of the country, asking people what they want from the care and support system in the future.

"The Government and stakeholders have worked incredibly hard to ensure that we got as many views as possible to make this consultation meaningful.

"The number, and quality, of the responses has been very high. Many thousands of people have told us how they want the new National Care Service to be organised and funded. This has been a very successful consultation, particularly in terms of online responses, and has demonstrated just how important the issue of care and support is in our society.

"Over the course of this consultation I have been moved and inspired by the personal stories that people have told me, including those of families overcoming great challenges. I would like to thank all those who’ve given their views.

"We are already analysing the responses, and these will help us to continue our work to create a National Care Service that is fair, simple and affordable - and that has the interests and rights of families and carers at its very heart.

"The consultation on our proposals has ended, but the Big Care Debate goes on, we will continue to listen as we develop the plans for a National Care Service that supports all our aspirations." 

The consultation is now over - but the Big Care Debate continues. Keep an eye on our website for news of how the reform process is progressing.

Once the consultation ends, the Government will analyse all of the thousands of responses to the reform proposals set out in the Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care Together. This work will then feed into the care and support White Paper to be published in 2010.

However, the end of the consultation does not mean the end of the debate. The Big Care Debate will continue.

There is still much to be done to make the Green Paper’s vision of a National Care Service for all adults in England a reality.

The Materials for holding your own Big Care Debate event will still be available through this website, and you will still be able to email us and comment on David Behan’s blog.

The website will also report on the progress of the reform process and various Big care Debate activities will continue, raising awareness and moving the debate on.

Thank you very much to everybody who has joined the debate – please remind friends, colleagues and family that there is still time to have their say on these vital reforms.

The British Association of Social Workers has welcomed a report calling for the General Social Care Council to concentrate its efforts on protecting the public by regulating social care.  The GSCC has also responded to the report. (04 Nov)

Carers UK have criticised the Government for not publishing the modelling behind the Green Paper. (04 Nov) The organisation has also welcomed the decision to prioritise the vaccination of carers against swine flu. (06 Nov)

General Care
The Daily Mirror writes that the Archbishop of Canterbury has called on the Government to review the carers’ benefits system. (02 Nov)

A report on The Guardian’s roundtable meeting with Be Birmingham and the Audit Commission refers to the unequal distribution of social care funding. (04 Nov)

Dementia in the press
The Daily Express reports that language and memory tests may be able to predict when a person is likely to develop dementia. (03 Nov)

The Mail on Sunday writes that the Court of Protection is taking on average four months to release money for people with dementia or other forms of mental incapacity. (08 Nov)

On behalf of the care and support team, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to contribute. I would also like to urge everybody who has yet to join the debate to do so before the end of the week. Beyond that – please encourage friends, family and colleagues to have their say too. 

Once the consultation ends we will go through a period of analyzing the many responses we have had – all of which will feed into our work going forward. Our intention is to put out a care and support White Paper early in 2010

However, this doesn’t mean the Big Care Debate is over – there is still much work to be done.

The creation of a fair, simple and affordable care and support system for all adults in England is one of the most ambitous projects the Government has undertaken. Arguably, it is similar in scale to the creation of the NHS in the late 1940s.

The care and support system works alongside families and communities to provide the proper care that people need.

We want to involve everyone in creating a National Care Service that works for the good of everyone, for generations to come. Families and carers will be at the very heart of everything we do in this reform process. They must be if we are to get these reforms right.

That is why we decided that the Big Care Debate should be about much more than just how care should be funded. We decided to ask “how should we create a National Care Service?”

Our primary goal is to design the best possible care service, that ensures that individual’s needs and aspirations are met. We want to see care that is empowering, enabling people to live the lives they want.

We can achieve this through better joined up services, between social care and benefits and housing. We will need a wider range of high quality services, making best use of the latest innovations such as telecare, extra care housing and community initiatives which help us support people.

These things will put the rights and entitlements of individuals, carers, families and communities at the centre of the new system.

We will need to look at workforce development – we need to bring more people into the care and support professions, and to upskill those already in them. We also need to make sure that people who need care and support get good information and don’t get bounced between service providers, and that the standard of care they get is the same in every region.

For all of this to happen we must continue to communicate and share ideas – especially those who have direct experience of the care and support system.

General Care
The Daily Mirror reports that MPs from the three main political parties have called for a debate on its Cash for Carers campaign. (26 Oct)

Dementia in the press
The People covers the story of a woman who has been refunded £30 000 by the NHS after they refused to fund 24-hour care for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. (01 Nov)

General
The Daily Telegraph reports on a warning from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence that patients with long-term illnesses should be checked for signs of depression. (28 Oct)

Olympian turned Strictly Come Dancing star Mark Foster has joined presenters Philippa Forrester and Cerri Burnell in adding support to four short films that use real life examples to show why care and support matters.

As the Big Care Debate enters its final week, they are asking everyone to have their say on the future of the care and support system.

“Life can change in seconds,” said Mark Foster. “For me it can be the difference between winning and losing. You can never know when your life may change forever and you may have care and support needs. Make sure you have your say on the future of the National Care Service.”

The films feature four individuals who currently receive care and support, highlighting the fact that the Government is looking to create a National Care Service that is simpler, fairer and more affordable than the current system.

The Big Care Debate gives everyone the opportunity to shape Government policy on the future of care and support by having their say on the proposals for reform set out in July’s Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care Together.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said: “The current system needs to change. I believe we can create a system that is fairer for everyone, but we need your help. This is your chance to make a real difference. There isn’t much time left until the debate ends, and I would urge everyone to get involved and give us their views.”

The debate affects everyone. In 20 years time a quarter of the entire adult population in England will be over 65 and the number of people over 85 will have doubled. Half of all men and two in three women will end up needing care, and if someone has more than £23,000 in savings, they will need to meet all the costs themselves.

Under the current system the average cost of care and support is £30,000, but for someone with dementia it could be as high as £200,000. The Government wants to change this.

One of the films features Diana Morgan, who has received care and support since losing both her legs in an accident.

She said: “I was 29, and had just started my own company when my life changed forever when I lost both my legs in an accident. I had never imagined that I would have care and support needs. I'm lucky - I have lots of wonderful friends, I do a lot of socialising, I have a great family and I love my work. I would urge people to have their say on the future of care and support, as most of us come into contact with the system at some point in our lives.”

Alex Fox of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers has responded to Andrew Lansley’s comments on social care, saying that continuing debate is crucial. (29 Oct)

The Personal Social Services Research Unit has announced that its first annual conference will be held in March. (30 Oct)