RECENT NEWS

Dudley Council has agreed to refund care home top-up fees for concerned families whose relatives were not offered an affordable placement, following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation.

Cornerstone Healthcare has received planning consent for an 80-bed service within the Imperial Park development in the south of Bristol.

Farrans has been awarded a build contract for a £13m purpose-built care home by Central Bedfordshire Council.

The UK Retirement Living Fund (ReLF) - managed by Schroders Capital and advised by Octopus Real Estate - has acquired a site in Tunbridge Wells, Kent for the development of a £55m retirement village in a joint venture with Elysian Residences.

The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) has revealed the line-up of care chefs that will compete in the national final of the Care Chef of the Year 2021 competition.

BRE Group has launched a government-funded website aimed at supporting care home providers with identifying the most effective energy efficiency improvements for their buildings and help them save money on their energy bills.

The Care Workers’ Charity (CWC) has partnered with the Outstanding Society in a bid to facilitate best practice and increase care quality for those who draw on social care.

Hallmark Care Homes is partnering with maintenance management software app FaultFixers in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19 within their 19 homes across England and Wales.

Specialist developer Castleoak has broken ground on a luxury 55-bed care home in Seaford, East Sussex to be owned and operated by Barchester Healthcare.

Amaya Care Homes has acquired the Bryn Celyn care home in Maesteg in south Wales from Hallmark Care Homes for £4m.

A drive to expand the use of digital technology in social care is expected to lead to £127m worth of benefits, according to NHS Digital.

Music for Dementia has launched an iOS app and listen again function to make it easier to listen to and personalise its internet-based m4d Radio.

Roche Retirement Living has completed construction of its £3.4m Mexborough Grange retirement living scheme in Methley near Leeds.

The Scottish government has launched a consultation on the creation of a National Care Service to deliver adult social care.

Barchester Healthcare has kicked off construction of the 66-bed Elgar Court care home in Malvern, Worcestershire.

Workforce technology startup Sona has raised £1.6m in funding to accelerate the development and adoption of its app for health and social care employees.

Skills for Care has launched a two-month campaign highlighting its online tools, resources and information to support recruitment of social care staff.

Leading not-for-profit care provider MHA has criticised the HMRC after being included on a government ‘named and shamed’ list of 191 companies that broke national minimum wage law.

Care home meals provider apetito has committed to reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2040 via challenging interim targets for 2025 and 2035.

New Care has received planning consent for two care facilities, one near Warrington in Cheshire and a second in Guiseley in West Yorkshire.