NHS Continuing Healthcare funding: anomalous, irregular, and often baffling

The boundary between health and social care continues to be a major issue, and is especially stark around long-term care and NHS continuing healthcare. Melanie Henwood explores the issues raised by a new report from the National Audit Office and highlights the major anomalies around fully funded care for some people, and means tested social care for others

The lack of collective will in Europe regarding refugees is indefensible

As the refugee crisis intensifies and pressure mounts for a pan-Europe strategy, Melanie Henwood examines the confused debate and argues that Britain must not stand by as a mere spectator to an unfolding tragedy

The UK’s problem with long-term care: short-term thinking

Long-term care regularly resurfaces as unfinished business, and with the announcement of another Green Paper by summer 2018, familiar arguments are once again being aired. Melanie Henwood examines the latest development and considers why this policy challenge remains so apparently intractable

Shifting Sands: Contested Boundaries in Adult Social Care

In this thesis I present a narrative that describes and analyses the contested and moving boundaries in adult social care through the lens of three enduring themes: the health and social care interface; hospital discharge and NHS continuing health care; and eligibility for adult social care. The thesis draws upon a range of my published work undertaken from 2002-2011, and this in turn reflects a wider body of work undertaken from the 1980s onwards. The thesis is developed from my work which comes from a distinctive model of independent research and analysis, combining original empirical fieldwork and evaluation with detailed policy analysis and commentary. The publications are principally derived from research studies and evaluations commissioned from me by the Department of Health; by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), and by the Putting People First Consortium and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). This thesis examines the problematic boundaries between adult social care (particularly in the care of older people), and the NHS which have been in evidence since the creation of the two systems, and the extent to which these boundaries are contested and fluid over time. I argue that the location of the boundary is of great significance because of the consequences not merely for respective organisational responsibilities and budgets, but also - importantly - for individual service users and their families. The thesis was written on the cusp of the introduction of major legislation in social care, with the Care Act 2014 due for phased implementation from April 2015. It is an opportune moment to consider how and to what extent the Act offers the prospect of stabilising the shifting sands of the landscape of adult social care

Robbing Peter to pay Paul? The government, the benefits system, and pensioners

When Iain Duncan Smith resigned in March, he did so over Budget proposals to cut certain benefits which he saw as hitting those of working age, while leaving intact those given to ‘better off pensioners’. This is not an either/or situation, explains Melanie Henwood; in fact, such a simplified approach presents the needs of older, and often disabled people as a burden to younger generations. The government certainly need to revisit the benefits system, but must do so through proper consultation and not through divisive rhetoric

The Conservative manifesto and social care: policy-making on the hoof

The Conservative Party manifesto plans for funding long-term care took most people by surprise. Melanie Henwood argues that the rapid unravelling of the proposals and the continued confusion raise fundamental questions both about the direction of policy and about the leadership of the Party

Jeremy Hunt's seven principles on adult social care reform: a new way forward or just rhetoric?

On 20 March, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Hunt finally made a speech identifying the principles that will inform the Green Paper on social care that is to be published later in 2018. Melanie Henwood considers what these principles reveal and reflects on their implications. Are there grounds for optimism, or is this just the latest chapter in a series of models for reform that have failed to make it into practice

Is the idea of 'care robots' an oxymoron?

The idea that technology and the digital revolution will transform our lives and be wholly positive is a familiar trope. Undoubtedly the pace of change is rapid - especially since the arrival of high-speed internet connectivity - and the emergence of interactive and voice-activated devices has progressed from the possible to the common place in very short order. The implications not only for our leisure time and entertainment, but also for practical applications in our lives are seemingly boundless. From apps to control our heating, lighting and home security systems; electric vehicles, to ‘swipe to pay’ or ‘tap to activate’ travel permits, the possibilities are rapidly evolving

Exemplar models and support for older carers and carers of people with dementia: informing commissioning

In May 2017 NHS England commissioned a project to support its Commitment to Carers programme. The focus of the work was to scope exemplar models of support for older carers, and for carers of people with dementia (of any age). The work took place between May 2017 and March 2018, and included a consultation workshop in February 2018. A full report of the findings is available, but this brief summary has been prepared primarily to give feedback to the people who contributed to the project and shared their experience with us. Our conclusions and recommendations should inform the further development of NHS England’s Commitment to Carers, but more widely they also point to gaps in which new approaches might be further developed and tested, building on the experiences and exemplars discussed

The 1972 ‘Papa India’ air disaster: what have we learned about supporting first responders dealing with trauma?

Fifty years after a major fatal plane crash on British soil, Melanie Henwood offers some personal reflections and asks what we have learned about supporting first responders dealing with trauma