PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Outsourcing adult social care has contributed to England’s care crisis, argue experts

Growth of private provision has resulted in worse care and should be rolled back

2024-11-14
(Press-News.org) Outsourcing adult social care services in England to the private sector since the 1980s has led to worse care and should be rolled back, argue experts in The BMJ today.

Benjamin Goodair at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and colleagues suggest that removing the profit motive would help improve quality and reduce inequities.

Social care, sometimes referred to as community, residential, or personalised care, for older people and people with physical and mental disabilities is facing record demand but performing worse than any time in recent history, they explain.

One contributor to this, they say, is the outsourcing of care provision from the public to the private sector. Figures suggest that the share of publicly provided adult social care has fallen by 56% since 2001.

Although competition from private sector provision was championed as a solution to achieve cheaper and better quality care, the authors point to evidence from the past few decades in the UK and elsewhere that challenges this view.

For example, international evidence shows quality differences are seen when private companies take over public services, suggesting that the same locations run by for-profit companies do worse.

These quality differences are found in many countries and in many different measures of quality, such as lower staffing rates or forced closures of care homes (an action of last resort when residents’ safety is at risk) suggesting that the for-profit gap is robust to different measures of quality. 

Inequality has also been worsened as adult social care has turned to market based and more self-funded provision, they add. Providers in England, for example, are increasingly focused on attracting affluent, self-funded, social care users, who pay higher fees than the rates set for state funded residents, leading to services becoming less accessible in the most deprived areas.

One reason for the failure of privatisation is that when quality is hard to measure, as it is in the care sector, market based provision is likely to incentivise cost cutting over quality improvements, they explain.

This, alongside a lack of regulatory powers by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) means that profit seeking remains largely unchecked, allowing companies to cut costs and quality in pursuit of financial gain.

So how can we ensure that England’s ageing population and population with disabilities can access safe, equitable, and effective care, they ask?

Acknowledging that removing the profit incentive alone will not solve the challenges facing the sector, which has long grappled with chronic underfunding and staffing shortages, a partial solution is to control, restrict, or remove the profit motive in social care services, which would both improve the quality of provision and reduce inequalities across the system. 

They say this can be achieved by measures such as profit caps, limiting the payment of shareholder dividends, or attempting to align financial incentives with care quality through performance related payments, but they acknowledge that these approaches face multiple challenges. 

Another option is bringing services back into public ownership or restricting all private ownership to third sector (non-profit) models, which could be “the first step in taking back control and gradually moving towards a care system less driven by the profit motive,” they suggest.

“Insufficient quality care can cause severe harm and distress for people who need it,” they write. “Urgent steps to reduce the profit motive and reverse the outsourcing of services are essential to protect the growing population in need of care.”

[Ends] 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The Lancet: Over 800 million adults living with diabetes, more than half not receiving treatment, global study suggests

2024-11-14
**Correction** A subheading in the press release sent yesterday was incorrect - the line 'Global rates of diabetes doubled over the last two decades' should be ''Global rates of diabetes doubled over the last three decades'. The subheading and two further occurrences of the same mistake have been corrected in the copy below (in yellow). The rest of the press release remains unchanged. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused,  The Lancet press office (pressoffice@lancet.com).   The ...

New therapeutic approach for severe COVID-19: faster recovery and reduction in mortality

2024-11-14
A new clinical study shows that an inhibitor of Fas ligand (FasL), also called CD95 ligand (CD95L), led to a faster recovery of COVID-19 patients and reduced mortality. On average, it took eight days to recover for patients who received asunercept, a biotherapeutic FasL inhibitor, compared to 13 days in the control group. In addition, mortality was decreased by about 20 per cent. The study ‘Efficacy and safety of asunercept, a CD95L-selective inhibitor, in hospitalised patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19: ASUNCTIS, a multicentre, randomised, open-label, controlled, phase 2 trial’ ...

Plugged wells and reduced injection lower induced earthquake rates in Oklahoma

2024-11-14
Wastewater injection resulting from oil and gas production in Oklahoma caused a dramatic rise in seismic activity in the state between 2009 and 2015. But regulatory efforts to backfill some injection wells with cement and reduce injection volumes have been effective in lowering the state’s induced earthquake rate, according to a new study in The Seismic Record. The study by Robert Skoumal of the U.S. Geological Survey and colleagues lends further support to the idea that reducing the depth of wastewater injection can decrease seismic activity—a finding that ...

Yin selected as a 2024 American Society of Agronomy Fellow

Yin selected as a 2024 American Society of Agronomy Fellow
2024-11-14
Frank Yin, agronomy researcher in the University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences, has been selected as a 2024 American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Fellow. The honor was awarded as a result of Yin’s more than 35 years of research contributions to institutions across the world, including 16 years at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). Yin was recognized for the Fellowship at the national meeting of ASA in San Antonio, Texas in November. “I am humbled and honored to receive this distinction, but above all I am ...

Long Covid could cost the economy billions every year

2024-11-14
Working days lost to long Covid could be costing the economy billions of pounds every year as patients struggle to cope with symptoms and return to work, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in BMJ Open and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), examined the impact of long Covid on 4,087 patients who were referred to a long Covid clinic and registered in the Living With Covid Recovery (LWCR) programme between August 2020 and August 2022. As part of their NHS treatment for the condition, the patients ...

Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets

Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets
2024-11-13
Mobile phones could be the key to a cheaper and more reliable way of tracking animals for ecology and conservation research, according to a new study from The Australian National University (ANU).  Traditional animal tracking methods are often expensive and require the tagged animals to be close to the tracking technology.  Now, ANU researchers have developed a cheap, lightweight Bluetooth beacon that can provide regular updates through our network of mobile phones in areas used by people carrying phones or smartwatches.  Study lead author and ANU ecologist, ...

This nifty AI tool helps neurosurgeons find sneaky cancer cells

2024-11-13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Suzanne.Leigh@ucsf.edu, (415) 680-5133 Subscribe to UCSF News This Nifty AI Tool Helps Neurosurgeons Find Sneaky Cancer Cells  Technique offers new hope for increased survival in patients with brain tumors.  What’s New:   An AI-based diagnostic system reveals cancerous tissue that may not otherwise be visible during brain tumor surgery. This enables neurosurgeons to remove it while the patient is still under anesthesia – or treat it afterwards with targeted therapies.  Why it Matters:  Brain tumors can ...

Treatment advances, predictive biomarkers stand to improve bladder cancer care

Treatment advances, predictive biomarkers stand to improve bladder cancer care
2024-11-13
CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — Recent advances in bladder cancer treatments may offer hope of curative care to more patients, including those with high-risk localized, muscle-invasive disease, according to an editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Matthew Milowsky, MD, FASCO, a bladder cancer expert at UNC School of Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, wrote that the promise of incorporating new treatments and predictive biomarkers to select the right patient for the right treatment every time offers a bright future for bladder cancer patients. Platinum-based chemotherapy has long been the standard treatment for metastatic bladder cancer and for ...

NYC's ride-hailing fee failed to ease Manhattan traffic, new NYU Tandon study reveals

2024-11-13
New York City's 2019 ride-hailing surcharge cut overall taxi and ride-share trips by 11 percent in Manhattan but failed to reduce traffic congestion, a key goal of the policy, according to a new NYU Tandon School of Engineering study published in Transportation Research Part A. “While this surcharge differs from the MTA's proposed congestion pricing plan, the study's findings can contribute to the current discourse,” said Daniel Vignon – assistant professor of Civil and Urban Engineering (CUE) and member of C2SMARTER, a U.S. Department of Transportation Tier 1 University Transportation Center – who led the research with CUE PhD student Yanchao ...

Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago

Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago
2024-11-13
An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these chunks of Mars eventually crashed into the Earth somewhere near Purdue and is one of the few meteorites that can be traced directly to Mars. This meteorite was rediscovered in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and therefore named the Lafayette Meteorite.  During early investigations of the Lafayette Meteorite, scientists discovered that it had interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Scientists have long wondered when that interaction with liquid water took place.  ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Study reveals how cell types shape human brain networks

New genetic explanation for heart condition revealed

Poor mental health linked to browsing negative content online

People with migraine at high risk of depression during pandemic

Climate-driven hazards increases risk for millions of coastal residents, study finds

Females sleep less, awaken more frequently than males

Most Americans want primary care providers to address mental health

Millions of Americans hurt by others’ drinking, drug use: study

Plasma-derived atomic hydrogen advances low-temperature CO2 methanation at high yield

Photon qubits challenge AI, enabling more accurate quantum computing without error-correction techniques

Single gene causes embryo notochord deformity in zebrafish

Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet - Nov 2024

AI speaks volumes when it comes to detecting Parkinson’s disease

Signals of inflammation during pregnancy linked to aging and memory changes 50 years later

Two million ex-smokers currently vape in England

When trees 'talk:' Researchers probe ancient wood for clues about massive solar storms

High nurse and doctor turnover linked to increased patient deaths in NHS hospitals

History of endometriosis and fibroids linked to heightened risk of early death

High nurse and doctor turnover rates linked to increased patient deaths in NHS hospitals

Research highlights the pressures human activities place on tropical marine ecosystems

New research sets out how to make free internet access a human right

Argonne plays critical role in assessing small modular reactor applications to rebuild a clean economy in post-war Ukraine

In the ‘Wild West’ of AI chatbots, subtle biases related to race and caste often go unchecked

Visual experience in a Pompeian domestic space: analysis using virtual reality-based eye tracking and GIS

RCMAR Center Director calls on House to advance a global brain health agenda

NEJM study: For chronic subdural hematomas, blocking the artery supplying the brain covering reduced re-operations threefold

New treatment combination for subdural hematoma reduces risk of recurrence

MD Anderson receives nearly $8 million in CPRIT funding for screening and early detection programs, faculty recruitment

HKUMed study highlights internet use as a strategy for better mental health in older adults

Cannabis disrupts brain activity in young adults prone to psychosis: study

[Press-News.org] Outsourcing adult social care has contributed to England’s care crisis, argue experts
Growth of private provision has resulted in worse care and should be rolled back