Frances Hasler

to be fair, they do offer quite a lot else, it's still a satisfyingly lengthy bundle of newsprint, once you skip past the travails of KS

I think London will cope fine without him.

Thanks. Enabling comparison is indeed the reason offered for keeping this Q. But it seems an increasingly pointless thing to measure, 78 years on.

Err..."help with the housework"? Help who, the cat? It's about whether you keep your living space clean. Do women get asked the same question?

Wowser - #NHSE is going and two years of my life working on that infamous 2012 Act flash before me. Happy to say that I contributed to a bit that has stood the test of time and I hope will continue to thrive - @healthwatchengland.bsky.social

Emphatically not defending Badenoch but...in some cases, experience is evidence. Not the entire basis for policy, but a vital element of it. How do we properly understand the impact of a service if we don't look at people's experience of using it?

wise approach, Ramandeep

So your mission for 2025, Neil, is to become Louise Casey's new best friend!

More power to you, Rachel. Keep growing! And best wishes for 2025.

Given the ambition to move more NHS services from hospital to community, getting CHC right would be useful all round. Change the mindset from rationing to 'rational use of resources'. Fund it well and recognise its potential.

Interesting analysis and chimes with my experience. One factor is a continuing shortage of community nursing in some areas which means that (despite the best efforts of social care and OT) people's specific health needs are not well met, which then triggers hospital re-admission.

Such a good question and so cathartic responding to it!

Really worrying - and classic Treasury "we can't see a cashable benefit inside three years ergo this isn't vfm" approach. Time to demand a seat at the table for some collaborative-minded VCS leaders. As Kate J says, we're expert in doing more with less.

We need to talk about dying The assisted dying debate has been filled with horror stories of miserable ends. But does this reflect the reality of ordinary death?

A must-read on what it's (actually/hopefully/normally) like to die from @doctoroxford.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024...

Thanks for this, Kamran - and for a pic that shows how utterly stylish she was! A quiet feminist as well as disability activist. Such a joy to get to know. She was an essential part of getting NCIL going. We were so pleased and proud when she joined the Lords (and gave Jane ideas!)

Excellent blog, Andy - we should all think about ways to increase joy in the world!
And I'd be everso pleased to have any tips for setting up volunteer-run hybrid events in places like community halls, where tech can be a challenge.

Crikey!

And can it be done while saving money, making best use of clinician's expertise and maintaining quality?

Exactly, Paul. If outcomes were targets we'd have to start capturing them. There are prototypes out there - (e.g. POET survey). Time for some (more) work on the best ways to collect and report the evidence. Better process is not unimportant - but process must serve outcomes.

We all have moral and ethical beliefs, whether we follow a religion or not (I don't). It doesn't invalidate an ethical belief because someone arrives at it via their faith. This Bill needs all the debate it can get -as drafted it is dangerous and unworkable.

Maybe they'll share the good practice in Hammersmith & Fulham of making social care free at point of need? And championing co-production with residents who draw on social care? I'm sure there are still things to improve there but I applaud their willingness to try a different approach.

You're right to highlight patchy implementation of what we know works. This govt needs to be serious about shifting resources from bed based services (hospitals, care homes) to where most of us live (our home, our community).

whatever gets you through the day, Neil

So perhaps a Casey review will help crystallise it for them? And help to create a shift in mindset about what social care is for. So much to gain by replacing the classic Labour welfarist model with an emancipatory one, based on @socialcarefuture.bsky.social vision.

picture shows some grass sloping towardss the sea, with the Seven Sisters cliffs in the background with a blue sky with some fluffy clouds above

For openers, here's a pic that includes hope, sisterhood and some blue sky.