Man on run wins literary price

Escaped prisoner Joseba Sarrionandia has been awarded a top Basque literary prize but he can only claim the prize if he gives himself up.

Sarrionandia escaped in 1985 from the San Sebastian jail where he had been imprisoned from belonging to militant Basque separatist group ETA . He has been on the run since then.

He was awarded the £15,500 prize in a competition for essays in the Basque language sponsored by the Basque regional government, who are withholding the prize until he 'regularises his legal situation.'

Whilst living in secret, Sarrionandia has written and published novels and books of poetry and short stories. Much of his writing is concerned with topics of exile and banishment. He has won other, non-government-sponsored, literary prizes.

FeedARead publishing site launched

Backed by major publishes Orion and Random House, the new site, FeedARead, enables authors to publish their books in paperback for free!

Every three months, the FeedARead authors whose books sell the most copies will receive feedback on their opening chapters from Random House and Orion editors.

FeedARead authors can upload their books to the site, where they are guided through the necessary steps to prepare and submit their manuscript and design a cover. This service is free. Authors set their own book price, and receive royalties. There is also a paid-for option for authors who wish their books to be made available to order through Amazon, Waterstone's and WH Smith.

A new fantastic service we, the Words Worth Reading Team, feel!

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CQC announce regulatory fee consultation

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have launched a consultation on the changes they propose to make to the fees that providers of health and social care services should pay in 2012/13.

These fees will be used to cover their work to register and monitor providers’ compliance with government standards of quality and safety.

The consultation sets out to:

• extend the scheme to include providers of primary care out-of-hours services entering the registration system from 1 April 2012.
• reduce the fees in the middle bandings for providers of dental and independent ambulance services.
• reduce the fee in the lowest level banding for providers of adult social care services without accommodation.

This consultation will also ask for responses to the CQC's ideas about the topics that they should consider as part of our longer term fees policy. The full consultation document can be found on the CQC's website.

MyResourcer helps Bullhorn users unlock the value of their database

MyResourcer, the easy-to-use online job lead generation system for the global recruitment market, announced today the complete integration with Bullhorn’s applicant tracking and customer relationship management software.

As a Bullhorn Marketplace Partner, MyResourcer’s technology enables Bullhorn users to unlock the value hidden within their client/prospect database, by automating the job search to develop new business contacts. The partnership between MyResourcer and Bullhorn is part of Bullhorn Marketplace, the first cloud-based recruitment agencies application and services marketplace available to the industry. The Marketplace provides best-of-breed solutions that are tightly integrated with Bullhorn and gives recruitment firms the ability to leverage appropriate technology for their unique business needs.

MyResourcer uses artificial intelligence and dynamic search technology to provide recruiters with the quickest and simplest mechanism for automated tracking of new jobs, as and when they appear on company websites. Instead of having to trawl through websites on a daily basis, recruiters are equipped with new jobs, even from organisations they may not have already dealt with.
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Marketing recruitment awards - finalists announced!

The finalists of the Marketing & Advertising Recruitment Awards 2011 have been announced, as excitement about the industry’s showcase event of the year increases.

With more than 10,000 votes cast across 100 entrants, the Awards, the only one of its kind specifically tailored to the marketing & advertising recruitment sector, look set to supersede last year’s inaugural event, which was endorsed and headlined by industry magnate, James Caan. At the awards ceremony finalists will be competing in 15 categories including: Best Social Media Strategy; Best Company Website; Recruitment Innovation; Best Client Service; and Best Newcomer. Individual awards have been established for Recruitment Consultant of the Year and Best Recruitment Boss.

The Awards ceremony takes place on 23rd November 2011 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, London. A list of all MARA finalists can be found via the official MARA website: www.ukmara.co.uk

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Rivacre House to improve services

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) released the following press release on Friday (30th Sept 11):

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told the charity Making Space that it must take action to meet government standards of quality and safety at Rivacre House care home at Ellesmere Port.

Inspectors who visited the home in Seymour Drive during July found that it was not complying with seven of the essential standards. Providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety.

The report, published on the CQC website, highlights the inspectors’ main concerns in four areas.

Care and welfare

Inspectors were concerned that outdated care planning and assessments put people at risk of not being provided with appropriate care and support to meet their individual needs and requests

Staffing

People’s needs were not being met because there were not enough staff.

Assessing and monitoring the quality of service

Inspectors found that the home does not have appropriate systems in place to help ensure the quality and safety of care and the support needed and to show ongoing compliance for all outcomes.

Registered manager

The service was not being managed by a person who is registered by CQC.

Sue McMillan, Regional Director for CQC in the North West said: “The care at Rivacre House has fallen far short of the standards people have a right to expect.

“It is a real concern that there were not enough staff on duty, and no registered manager in place. We have met with the provider and they have submitted a plan which shows how they will address these issues. We will continue to monitor this service closely to ensure these improvements are made and sustained.

“The law says these are the standards that everyone should be able to expect when they receive care. Our inspectors will return to this care home, and if we find that it is not making progress we will consider further action."

Need help with your CQC registration or demonstration of ongoing compliance with the CQC standards? Speak to one of our CQC experts today.

Hertfordshire nursing home fails to protect safety of residents

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) released the following press release on Friday:

Glendaph Nursing Home, in Leominster, not meeting 11 essential standards.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told the owners of Glendaph Nursing Home, in Leominster, that they must make improvements to comply with the essential standards of quality and safety.

Inspectors have found that the home, in North Road, Kingsland, has failed to protect the safety and welfare of its residents.

A report published by CQC says that the provider, Geoshine Limited, was not meeting 11 of the 12 essential standards inspectors looked at.

Providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety.

The inspection at Glendaph Nursing Home, which provides nursing care for adults, took place in August 2011 to check whether improvements had been made in relation to concerns raised by CQC in an earlier inspection.

When inspectors visited the home they found the care provided is falling short of standards people should be able to expect and improvements are needed.

Areas of concern can be found below.

Care and welfare of people who use the services

While the home had worked hard to make improvements to the standard of nursing care, people had still been put at risk of not receiving safe and appropriate care and treatment.

Safeguarding people who use services

Although some safeguarding alerts were raised appropriately by the home, inspectors found this was not always the case and people who use the service had been put at risk of abuse or neglect and of not having their rights respected or upheld.

Safety and suitability of premises

The people who use the service had been put at risk because their home had not been maintained in a safe and suitable manner.

Safety, availability and suitability of equipment

Some improvements had been made in relation to the level of suitable equipment in the home but people using the service had been put at risk when equipment had not been used correctly or well maintained.

Supporting staff

The people who use the service had been put at risk of not always having their needs met by staff who were fully trained and well supported.

Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision

Inspectors found that due to ineffective decision making, monitoring and management of the service, people had been put at risk.

Records

Records kept in the home were not always accurate and complete.

Andrea Gordon, Regional Director of CQC in the West Midlands and East Midlands, said: “The failings at Glendaph Nursing Home are a real concern and improvements need to be made.

“The provider needs to ensure that staff are properly trained, that the premises and equipment are well maintained and that safeguarding matters are reported appropriately in order to guard against such incidents reoccurring.

“CQC has been working closely with Herefordshire Council and Wye Valley NHS Trust to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the residents and we have told the provider where they need to improve.

“Where improvements are not made we have a range of enforcement powers which can be used, including prosecution, closure, or restriction of services. “

Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.