Poor hit hardest by UK govt. policies

May 13, 2012 — Wendy
Carers feel forgotten by society 
The poorest households have been most affected by the soaring cost of living in Britain as they spend a higher proportion of their incomes to meet the problem of food and energy bills, warns a new research.

According to a study by Trades Union Congress (TUC), Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for the poorest 10 percent of households in February was 4.1 percent, compared with 3.6 percent for middle-income families and 3.3 per cent for the richest 10 percent.

“People have been getting poorer every month for the last two years as high inflation, tax rises and the dire state of the economy take their toll on family budgets,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. (more…)

Posted in Carers, disability, elderly care, poverty. Tags: , , , . No Comments »

Patients ‘treated in corridors’, claims Royal College of Nursing

May 13, 2012 — Wendy

‘Huge stress’

By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Waiting room Hospitals are expected to see patients within 18 weeks in England

Patients are being left stranded on trolleys for hours and forced to have treatment in corridors due in part to the loss of hospital beds, nurses say.

The Royal College of Nursing says feedback from more than 1,200 staff paints a “worrying picture”, with patients regularly being in ambulances or held in a queue.

The union warned the NHS risked going backwards unless ministers got a grip.

The government said there were enough beds for this not to be happening.

Of the 1,246 nurses and healthcare assistants who replied to an RCN request for feedback, a fifth said providing care in corridors had become a daily occurrence. (more…)

Posted in Carers, elderly care, hospital. Tags: , , , , . 1 Comment »

Norfolk NHS conference sees vision of improved mental health care

May 12, 2012 — Wendy

A vision of improved nursing training and care to prevent a repeat of recent scandals involving dementia and mental health patients was delivered at an NHS conference in Norfolk yesterday

By dominic bareham
Saturday, May 12, 2012
12:02 PM

The NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust wants to revitalise the traditional caring and supportive role of nurses following recent reports over a failure in the most basic care given to dementia and mental health patients.

In October, a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) revealed inspectors made 100 unannounced visits to hospitals across the country to assess dignity and nutrition standards and found 55 cases where the care received by elderly patients was “alarming.”

Particular areas of concern were a lack of support for those who needed help eating, poor hygiene and curtains not being closed properly.

Locally, the CQC has given the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston three warnings about the standard of patient care. (more…)

Posted in Carers, mental health, Norfolk. Tags: , , , . No Comments »

Full state pension for stay-at-home mothers and carers

May 12, 2012 — Wendy

Stay-at-home mothers and carers will receive a full state pension for the first time under a radical overhaul of the country’s retirement system, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Full state pension for stay-at-home mothers

Iain Duncan Smith said women would be the ‘major winners’ in the reformed system
Photo: REX

By , Political Editor

10:00PM BST 11 May 2012

 

Millions of mothers who have chosen to take time out of work will no longer be penalised once they are pensioners, Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has announced.

However, the overhaul is expected to hit wealthier workers, as the state second pension will be scrapped.

At the moment, people who do not work for 30 years do not qualify for the full basic state pension. Under the reforms, mothers and carers will be treated as if they had worked throughout their lives, benefiting them by £2,000 a year.

Mr Duncan Smith said women would be the “major winners” in the reformed system, which will mean that everyone who works or looks after others will receive a flat-rate payment worth at least £140 a week.

The measure will be applied to women who retire from 2015, giving an average of £40 extra a week to mothers who took time out of work. Currently, they receive a reduced entitlement for each year out of employment. (more…)

Posted in Carers, family. Tags: , . No Comments »

£2m service to aid dementia sufferers

May 12, 2012 — Wendy

DEMENTIA sufferers and their families are to get help from a new support service being launched in South Tyneside

By VERITY WARD
Published on Saturday 12 May 2012 07:20

 

The new initiative, called the Memory Protection Service, aims to provide access to information, support, early diagnosis, treatment and care for people with the condition along with their families and carers.

The service, which will cost £2m a year to run, is being paid for by NHS South of Tyne and Wear and run by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, which specialises in mental health and disability care. (more…)

Posted in Carers, dementia. Tags: , , , . No Comments »
Page 4 of 263« First...3456...102030...Last »
« Older posts «
Newer posts » »