Monthly Archives: July 2012
Loneliness rife among older men
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Many men over 75 suffer from lack of social contact and depression
190,000 British men over 75, who live alone, are lonely according to WRVS research, which identified 36 per cent spend more than 12 hours of the day on their own.
The research found that these men are more likely to be lonely than women, however they are less likely to confide in friends and family about their feelings (11 per cent men, 24 per cent women).
The findings also highlight the extent to which these men are socially isolated with 41 per cent typically having two or less face to face conversations a day and one in 33 (three per cent) having none.
There is widespread agreement amongst experts that loneliness is a serious health issue because it makes it more likely that older people will develop illnesses that reach crisis level and need hospital care.
Disability is multi-dimensional, so a joined-up response is needed
Disabled people and their carers are looking for allies in their struggle for survival and quality of life
With many hundreds of delegates from all over the planet, the Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development is a wonderful forum for raising one of the most important human rights issues of our time: disability. When I first started participating in the disability movement more than 20 years ago, jokes about social workers were popular in British activist circles. Few of them could be repeated here. Social work has changed since then, but I suspect there still remains some of that underlying anger of people with disabilities against the professionals whom they perceive to be unresponsive and controlling.
The UK is one of 117 nations to have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A further 36 have signed it. Most of the articles of this human rights and development treaty have some relevance to social work: the right to live independently and be included in the community; freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse; respect for home and family; adequate standards of living and social protection. But even more importantly, the whole convention reflects the principles of equality, diversity, non-discrimination and respect which should be at the heart of social work practice.
Older people urged to drink more water
Drinking water helps to maintain your body temperature during hot weather
Jul 24 2012 By David Godsall
CARE bosses in Leicestershire are urging older people to drink more water, tea and soft drinks during the current warm spell, to avoid dehydration.
Leicestershire County Council raised the issue due to concerns that many older people are not drinking enough, which can lead to health problems.
David Sprason, the council’s acting deputy leader, said: “People need to drink two and a half pints of fluid per day and even more when its hot. Tap water is one of the best things you can drink its cheap and its high quality.
