Monthly Archives: June 2013

Will people save within a Premium Bond to pay for their long term care

June 27, 2013   Carers, disability, Older care

Care bond pitched as LTC funding solution

Blueprint suggests a model similar to premium bonds to encourage saving for potential long-term care needs

By Aimee Steen | Published Jun 26, 2013 |

Funding for care has crept further on to the agenda in the past few years off the back of the Dilnot commission.
But even with a cap on care costs, many will struggle to pay the cost of care should it become necessary.
A new product pitched by Cass Business School, in conjunction with the International Longevity Centre UK, aims to ease the burden of paying for care in addition to incentivising people to make provision for themselves.

Personal care savings bonds (PCSBs), proposed by Professor Les Mayhew and Dr David Smith of the business school, would work in a similar way to premium bonds in that they would pay monthly prizes, free of tax, which could either be claimed or reinvested.
Unlike premium bonds, however, they would accrue monthly interest and could be purchased by any adult at a nominal value of £1 each.
They could only be cashed when the owner passed a social care assessment or died.

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Mental health nurses to patrol streets of North Yorkshire with police

June 27, 2013   Carers, mental health

The county is one of four revealed by Care and Support

12:00am Thursday 27th June 2013 in News  By Matt Westcott

MENTAL health nurses will patrol the streets with police officers as part of a pilot initiative in North Yorkshire.

The county is one of four revealed by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb today and will see the nurses sent to incidents where police believe people need immediate mental health support.

Street triage services already operate in neighbouring Cleveland and have shown good results.

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'Carers walk the cancer journey with patients but need more support'

June 26, 2013   Cancer, Carers, ukcuts

Up to 1.1 million people are thought to be providing unpaid care to a friend or family member who has cancer but they are getting neither the information nor help they need

guardian.co.uk,

Researchers found carers are often not told how best to support patients or where they can turn for practical or emotional support (picture posed by models).

When Fiona O’Kelly’s widowed mum was diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago, her life changed overnight. “It’s like our roles suddenly flipped,” she recalls. “Mum used to help me look after my two boys but now I look after her. She was independent up to then but her cancer and the treatment have left her frail and affected her memory.

“There are times when I think I can’t cope but I know staying in her own home and being cared for by family is the best thing for Mum.”

O’Kelly, whose sons are 10 and 16, negotiated a year off work following the diagnosis, and has since dropped her hours from four to two days a week. Her husband has also changed his working hours to minimise childcare costs.

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