Guidelines for the closure of care homes for older people: prevalence and content of local government protocols

The rise in the number of care home closures in recent years has raised concerns about the way in which residents and their relatives and carers are being affected by such relocation and the way in which it is managed. Currently there is no statutory guidance in England aimed specifically at the way in which care homes close. This paper presents a review of local government guidelines and protocols for the closure of care homes for older people. The objectives of the study were to identify the prevalence of written guidelines and the nature of existing principles and recommendations for good practice. Thirty-three documents were analysed to identify their purpose and scope, the ways in which roles and responsibilities were defined and allocated, and suggestions and recommendations for good practice

Creating a new town koine : children and language change in Milton Keynes.

Koineization – the development of a new, mixed variety following dialect contact – has well-documented outcomes. However, there have been few studies of the phenomenon actually in progress. This article describes the development of a new variety in the English New Town of Milton Keynes, designated in 1967. The article is structured around eight “principles” that relate the process of koineization to its outcomes. Recordings were made of 48 Milton Keynes-born children in three age groups (4, 8, and 12), the principal caregiver of each child, and several elderly locally born residents. Quantitative analysis of ten phonetic variables suggests that substantial but not complete focusing occurs in the child generation. The lack of linguistic continuity in the New Town is demonstrated, and the time scale of koineization there is discussed. Finally, it is shown that demography and the social-network characteristics of individuals are crucial to the outcomes of koineization

The Rate, Causes and Consequences of Home Closures

One of the attributes of a mixed economy of care is that inevitably some homes will go out of business, with consequent costs for the individuals involved and the regulating authorities. However, the rise in home closures during recent years has given rise to concerns about the capacity of the care home sector and the effects on current residents. This report describes the results of the first phase of a study on the causes, processes and consequences of home closure. A survey of registration and inspection (R&I) units was conducted to identify rates of closure, the proportion of closures that were due to business reasons, changes in registration, the consequences for supply and the views of unit managers. A follow up telephone interview was conducted with those units that covered areas included in a 1996 survey of homes. This interview was used to collect more detailed information about the two most recent closures

Nursing Candidates\u27 Perceptions of the Greatest Challenges to Becoming a Professional Nurse

Nursing candidates\u27 overall goal is to become a professional nurse. To reach this goal, the student must graduate from an associate or baccalaureate nursing program and pass the state board, National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Student retention in nursing programs and passing the NCLEX continue to be a problem for educational institutions throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine nursing candidates\u27 perceptions of their greatest challenges in becoming a professional nurse. Wenger\u27s social learning systems and the community of practice comprised the conceptual framework that guided this study. The research questions pertained to nursing students\u27 perceptions regarding the greatest challenges of becoming a professional nurse, strategies that could have helped the students, and the challenges that could be addressed by the nursing program. For this qualitative case study, nursing students from a second year Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program and nursing students in their last semester of a License Practical Nurse (LPN) program in North Georgia were asked to participate by attending focus group interviews. Twelve of the second year ADN program students volunteered to participate and 5 of the students in the last semester of the LPN program volunteered to participate. The data was collected from focus group interviews, and an inductive process was done for the data analysis. The findings revealed four challenges to becoming a professional nurse: family/relationship, lack of time, curriculum, and prior knowledge or skill. Insights from the analysis may enhance the institutions\u27 understanding of the barriers faced by nursing students in North Georgia, the nursing program, the nursing profession, and help develop strategies to identify and support at-risk students