On 9 October, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced the details of its new inspection regime for care homes, after a lengthy consultation and evidence gathering process. The proposals amount to a step change in the depth, breadth, and consistency of inspections. They attempt to move away from superficial visits, focussing on minimum compliance standards and […]
Category: David Oliver
David Oliver: Tails of the unexpected—could the NHS learn from vets?
As I sit at my keyboard, I am looking at my calm and contented 3 year old calico cat, Tilly. Apart from the shaved area on her flank, you wouldn’t know anything had ever been different. Yet last week, she came close to dying from acute kidney injury. I had come home after a long day […]
David Oliver: Older people in nursing homes—from “hard hitting exposés” to constructive solutions
Last night BBC One’s Panorama: Behind Closed Doors was the latest in its series of programmes on appalling care for frail older people. For someone like me, who works day in day out in frontline services, it was disturbing viewing and a hard watch. The producers picked three care homes identified as problematic by whistleblowers, residents’ […]
David Oliver: How real life stories can help us understand the challenges of care for older people
On television we can often tell more from peoples’ words or reactions than from any scripted voiceover. In “Protecting our Parents”—a three part BBC 2 documentary, due to be screened on 17 April, this holds very true. Our society is often afraid to face up to the realities of old age, and a youth fixated […]