Beloved writer Maeve Binchy dies

Beloved writer Maeve Binchy has died at the age of 72, following a short illness.


A household name, known as a natural story teller, Maeve Binchy has sold more than 40 million books worldwide in multiple languages. Her works were often set in Ireland and she was well known for depicting a special kind of 'Irishness' in her characters. A number of her books have been adapted for the screen and made into Hollywood films, including 'Circle of Friends' and 'Tara Road.'


Binchy trained as a teacher before moving into journalism, working as the woman’s editor at the Irish Times before heading to London. It was here that she wrote her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, published in 1982. It went on to become a best-seller.
Many authors have paid tribute to Maeve Binchy over Twitter:

Ian Rankin tweeted: "Maeve Binchy was a gregarious, larger than life, ebullient recorder of human foibles and wonderment."

Cathy Kelly wrote: "The world is truly a darker place without the golden light of lovely Maeve Binchy. We'll all miss her genius."

In 2000 Binchy was ranked third in the World Book Day poll of favourite authors, ahead of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.


She also received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Book Awards in 2010, the same year her last novel, Minding Frankie, was published.

The author said that her secret was to write the way she spoke.

"I don't say I was 'proceeding down a thoroughfare', I say I 'walked down the road'. I don't say I 'passed a hallowed institute of learning', I say I 'passed a school'.

"You don't wear all your jewellery at once," she went on. "You're much more believable if you talk in your own voice."  (BBC Website, Jul 12)

Binchy was known for her support of fellow writers. She believed that anyone is capable of writing a novel, no matter where they come from or what their background is. 

She is survived by her husband, writer Gordon Snell. 

If you would like help with your own manuscript, visit us at:

http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/manuscript-proofreading.php 

The CQC want your views on child services

The current inspection programme of children’s services ends in July 2012. The programme was carried out jointly with Ofsted and focused on safeguarding children arrangements and services for looked after children.


The CQC now want your views as they work with other organisations to create new inspection programmes. Two new joint inspection programmes of child protection arrangements will begin in June 2013. The inspections will be carried out over three years and will look at the arrangements of multiple agencies in local authorities around England. The CQC wish to focus the inspections on how effective health services are at protecting children and young people.


If you have a view on how the CQC can develop their new inspection of child protection arrangements, you can send your thoughts to safeguardingchildren@cqc.org.uk. 


If you are a healthcare provider and would like help with your CQC registration, visit us at http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/care-quality-commission.php 

Half of practices in England have begun CQC registration

The CQC have announced that 5,430 GP practices, over 50% of those the regulator invited to begin registration earlier this month, have set up online accounts to start the process.

Currently, between 200 to 300 GPs are setting up their online accounts every day, a CQC spokesman said.

GP practices must be registered with the CQC by 1 April 2013 to remain entitled to provide NHS services. Setting up an online account is the first stage of the process.

Registration will take place in four one-month windows from September to December. Practices that have set up their accounts can choose in which window they wish to submit data required for registration.

However, practices who fail to do so by the end of August will be chased by their PCT or LMC and automatically allocated a registration window. The final registration window, which runs from 20 November to 20 December, is now completely full, the CQC has said.

Adrian Hughes, head of registration at the CQC, said: ‘Registration of NHS GPs and other providers of primary medical services is going well.

'We have had a strong and steady number of providers setting up their accounts and choosing their 28-day window in which to submit their application.

‘Towards the end of the month we will be in contact with those who have not yet set up their accounts, in preparation to support providers to submit their applications from September onwards.’

Turbine Transfers creates 20 Gwynt y Mor wind farm jobs

An Anglesey firm has landed a multimillion-pound contract as part of the project to build the Gwynt y Mor wind farm off the north Wales coast.

Gwynt y Mor, which is being built 13km off the coast, is said to be one of the largest offshore wind farms in construction in Europe. Once fully operational, energy generation is expected to be equivalent to the average annual needs of around 400,000 homes.

Twenty jobs will be created by Holyhead-based Turbine Transfers to provide six crew vessels to ferry workers to the windfarm site. Vessels will operate from Flintshire's Port of Mostyn, where part of the turbines are built and the River Mersey at Birkenhead.

Project officials said the contract brings total investment in Wales by the wind farm to over £80m.

Business Minister Edwina Hart said: "It is vitally important that large-scale energy projects such as Gwynt y Mor support the regional economy and create jobs locally.

"Businesses across Wales should maximise on the economic potential of power generation to create jobs, wealth and growth as the Welsh government works to develop a new low-carbon economy."

Do you want your job application to stand out from the crowd? Have a look on the Words Worth Reading Ltd website to see how we can help you.

New jobs at Jaguar Land Rover

The car company Jaguar Land Rover is to create 1,100 new jobs in the West Midlands. 


The jobs have been created to to build the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake estate and other models at the plant in Castle Bromwich. 


The move is expected to support thousands of jobs at the plant but also with suppliers in the UK. It shows the company's continued investment in the UK, the announcement comes just weeks after plans were announced to spend an additional £1 million with UK suppliers. 


Chief Executive Ralf Speth has said; "We will continue to invest in new products, develop new technologies and enhance the skills of our employees." (BBC Website, July 12)


If you would like help securing your ideal job, visit the Words Worth Reading Ltd team at http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/job-seekers-package.php

The Unbound Press Poetry Award

The Unbound Press Poetry Award is underway again this year. The award welcomes all genres of poetry and there is no theme so you can let your imagination run. 


A maximum length has been set of 40 lines. It is £5 for each entry, or you can enter 3 poems for £10. 


This year sees Michael Schmidt appear as a guest judge. Prizes include £500 for first prize, £250 for second and £125 for third prize. Each person who makes the shortlist will receive a copy of the anthology publication too. 


If you would like to enter this poetry competition, you must submit your entry by 31st October 2012.


For more information on this competition, visit  www.unboundpress.com/competitions

If you are a writer who would like help with your script. Check out Words Worth Reading Ltd. 

Essential CQC standards

All healthcare professionals understand the importance of cleanliness and infection control, but are you aware of the CQC regulations regarding this?

The CQC framework requires that all GP practices and other primary medical service providers follow every aspect of the guidance detailed in the Health and Social Care Act 2008: The Code of Practice for health and adult social care on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. GP practices also need to integrate the latest NICE evidence-based guidelines, including the recently updated document CG139 Infection: Prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in primary and community care and practices are required to regularly check MHRA and other health and safety alerts, and ensure that they are also familiar with NHS Employers health and safety guidance. 

Top tips to support compliance

·         Remember that whilst treatment areas are important when considering infection control don’t forget to pay attention to communal/non-medical parts of the practice.

·         Providers really need to have policies for all areas of the premises, including toilets, waiting rooms and staff areas.

·         GP practises should have a named Infection and Prevention Control lead and deputy. This role is to ensure all staff are adhering to practice policies, arrange audits risk assessment and staff training.

·         Providers must ensure they have a policy that covers all single-use devices.

·         A policy including hand hygiene need to be in place and supported by regular training sessions and training reviews, as well as audits of all hand hygiene products on the premises.

·         Ensure relevant risk assessments are completed and then training delivered as appropriate.  Policies need to be updated and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure efficacy.

·         Providers should have a policy to cover needlestick injuries and ensure the relevant occupational health procedures are in place.

·         A waste management policy should be in place covering all aspects of waste, including general business waste.

·         Plans covering all staff induction and supervision should be in place.

For more advice in CQC compliance contact a member of the Words Worth Reading Ltd team.

The first ebook festival - Kidwell-e

The UK's first ebook festival is to take place this weekend in Kidwelly, West Wales, named "The Kidwell-e Festival". The aim of the festival is to celebrate the digital revolution in literature, the ebook, also to highlight popular fiction and new writers.


The two day event will take place over the 28th and 29th July. Confirmed guest authors include crime writer Martin Edwards, best selling authors Nicholas Allan, Mary Hooper and Polly Courtney. Joining them will be royal biographer Tim Heald and comedy writer Alex Thomas, to name just a few.


As well as guest authors, the festival promises readings, workshops and family friendly entertainment. It will cover all popular genres of writing, including historical adventure, crime, romance and comedy. The festival aims to give new writers the chance to showcase their talents. 


The Festival founder and best-selling Welsh author Julian Ruck has said: "The Kidwell-e Festival is the first event of its kind within the UK to officially recognise, and celebrate, the ebook — the most innovative, exciting and empowering medium to hit the publishing world since Caxton and Gutenberg". (www.booktrade.info, Jul12) The festival is all about promoting literature in todays digital world. 


Tickets are £15 for one day or £25 for two days when booked in advance. Entrance on the day is £18. Children under 14 go free. For more information visit www.kidwellyefestival.com.

Be inspired by Charles Dickens

There isn't long until the Dickens' Bicentenary Writing Competition closes.

The competition is open to all writers, at home or from abroad. Applicants are invited to enter short works of prose or poetry that has been inspired by any character from a Charles Dickens novel.

Poems are to be a maximum of 10 lines and short stories should be no more than 3,000 words long.

Entry fees include £2 per poem and £3 per story. You could be in with a chance of winning up to £30.

The deadline for this competition is 15th August 2012.

Could Twitter become the latest tool for job seekers?

Have you ever thought about using Twitter as a way to find a job? Many people believe that it could be the latest untapped resource for job seekers as more traditional ways of finding a job become less effective.

Firstly, many employers want to keep recruitment costs down, especially in todays world and Twitter allows them do do just that. What is the harm of using both recruitment firms and contacting your potential employer directly?

With the latest unemployment figures saying that 2.58 million people are unemployed in the UK, job seekers need to find new and imaginative ways to stand out from the crowd, and Twitter could help you. Very few job seekers are using Twitter as a tool yet and it could help you uncover the job you are looking for, so why not get ahead of the game.

Twitter could give you direct access to a possible employer, very few traditional job seeking tools can do this. However, the nature of Twitter does mean that your potential employer would need to follow you too for there to be direct communication between the two of you. That isn't to say that you can't create a network using Twitter, after all, thats what it is designed to do. Networking is one of the best ways to find a job. 

There are many businesses already taking advantage of Twitter as a resource, it won't be long before more and more companies use Twitter to attract the professionals they want. 

If you would like help getting your dream job, why not let the team at Words Worth Reading Ltd give your CV an MOT? 

What do I do if I provide a mix of primary care?

For organisations providing several services only one provider level application will need to be submitted and that covers all services and locations. All the locations that the organisation uses will however need to be registered separately.

Organisations will need to select at least one registered manager to be responsible for ensuring quality and safety on a day-to-day basis at each location and a nominated individual to be the main point of contact for CQC.

In order to determine which regulated activities should be registered for, the services provided at each location need to be looked at.

For support with identifing your registration needs visit the Words Worth Reading website

CQC essential standards

As the CQC registration process begins questions and queries will undoubtedly be raised. One of these is what people should do if they don’t comply with the essential standards.

The CQC state that in your registration application you’ll need to declare whether you’re compliant with all of the essential standards of quality and safety. If you’re not compliant, you can still register, as long as you manage risks to patients and staff, but you’ll need to create action plan(s).

The action plans are to ensure that you’re taking appropriate steps to become compliant. You only need to submit action plans if you’re not compliant with one or more of the essential standards.

What you should be doing now

First you’ll need to identify whether there are any essential standards you don’t comply with. If you’re not compliant with one or more standards, you can then start to prepare your action plan(s) in the template below. This will make your registration process quick and smooth.

Action plan template

For support completing your action plan or registration contact a member of the Words Worth Reading team.

What are the benefits of being CQC registered?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the Government's independent regulator of health and adult social care services. They register a variety of services and monitor them to ensure that they are meeting the standards that have been set. From April 2013, this will include GPs.

There are many benefits to being CQC registered, both for you and your patients. By being CQC registered, you will assure patients, and the Government that you are delivering quality care.

The CQC tailor their judgements and expectations to your specific type and size of service. The inspections focus on patient outcomes. Once the inspection is complete, the CQC will publish the information on their website so that the public can see that you are meeting the essential standards. Your staff can be reassured that they will be supported by you to provide care and treatment to patients.The standards must be met by all health and social care services, so you will know what to expect from the other organisations you work with.

Being CQC registered will benefit your patients too. The CQC work directly with the primary care sector to protect patients and support care providers to meet the essential standards. The CQC aim to tackle poor care and use feedback from patients to make their judgements. Patients can be assured that practices are inspected regularly and are meeting the standards set. 

CQC Registration for out-of-hours services

Since April 2012 there has been a new system of regulation for providers of out-of-hours services.

If you are an out-of-hours provider that is registered with the CQC, you may want to make changes to your application. Perhaps changes concerning your location, managers or your partnerships. If you do, the CQC website has a range of information and resources to help you at http://www.cqc.org.uk/organisations-we-regulate/gps-and-primary-medical-services/registration-out-hours-services.

If you are registering for the first time as a new provider offering an out-of-hours service, you will need to apply to register. As a new provider you will be subject to a series of checks before your application is complete. Every will pay a single annual fee on the same date each year. This fee will cover all registration, variation and compliance requirements. The CQC will begin their planned reviews of out-of-hours service providers after the summer.

You can find more details about the application process in the step-by-step guide on the CQC website. 


If you would like help with your application, visit us at Words Worth Reading Ltd. 

CQC registration has begun

It is now possible to register with the CQC. By now you should have received a letter from CQC with your login details.

Your organisation should have received a letter with a code which will allow you to start the application process on the CQC website.

You will be asked to set up an account and choose one of four deadlines (between September and December 2012) to submit your application.

You'll be able to create accounts for various people to help you fill in the application form. Once you have set up your account(s), you can start filling in the online application form straight away. You can find the log in page and the forms that you need by following this link to the CQC website. http://www.cqc.org.uk/register.

If you haven’t received a letter with your login details yet, you can get in touch with the CQC by emailing them at 2012registration@cqc.org.uk.

Words Worth Reading Ltd can offer a range of services to help you with your CQC      
application. Visit them at http://www.wordsworthreading.co.uk/care-quality-commission.php for more details.