Category Archives: health
New blue badge parking crackdown
14 February 2011 Last updated at 12:18
New blue badge parking crackdown
A crackdown on abuse of the disabled “blue badge” parking scheme has been announced by ministers.
It is estimated that use of up to half of the existing 2.5 million badges could be fraudulent, costing the UK an estimated £46m a year.
More people are to face mobility tests to get the badges, which offer special parking rights, and councils will have greater powers of confiscation.
Use of blue badges has soared by more than a third in the last 10 years.
The badges allow access to special parking or the right to avoid parking restrictions.
They are issued to people who are registered blind, receive a war pensioner’s mobility supplement or higher rate disability living allowance, and to other people with mobility problems who undergo an assessment.
A Department for Transport statement said: “Increasing levels of badge fraud mean those who genuinely need to use these parking spaces often find themselves displaced by people who do not.”
The new measures, due to come into force from April, will include:
On-the-spot powers for local authorities to recover misused and cancelled badges
Wider use of independent mobility assessments to determine eligibility
Printed badges with anti-fraud holograms and bearer photographs to replace current handwritten badges
Transport minister Norman Baker said the scheme was “in real need of modernisation”, having undergone little change since it was introduced in the 70s.
“These improvements will mean that blue badge holders get a much better service for less than 1p per day,” he said.
Consistency
Helen Dolphin, who co-ordinates policy for the disabled motorists charity Mobilise, has said there is a need for much greater consistency with councils taking more care over who received the badges
And Ms Dolphin wants people to be educated about their proper use: “A lot of family members think they can use it even without the disabled person being in the car.
“There are many cases of carers thinking they can use it to park when they go shopping,” she said.
Paul Slowey, of Blue Badge Fraud Investigation Ltd, which investigates blue badge abuse on behalf of councils, says that in some city areas up to 50% of badges are being wrongly used.
He says the powers are there for local authorities to mount prosecutions for fraud when they detect misuse, but “historically enforcement has been dreadful”.
Mr Slowey points to the rail network, where ticket fraud fell after companies introduced strict measures aimed at fare-dodgers.
“If the use of blue badges is enforced properly then the scheme will function as it should,” he said
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12435529
Kirklees adult social care cuts approved
Kirklees adult social care cuts approved
Adult social care in Kirklees is being scaled back as the council makes millions of pounds of savings following government funding cuts.
Vulnerable people will now have to be in “critical” need in order to access care as part of changes to the service.
Kirklees Council said the new approach would result in £2m savings a year, contributing to the £80m savings the council has to make by 2014.
The proposals were voted through at a meeting on Wednesday night.
The council said a person defined as “critical” included those whose life was threatened or had significant health problems.
A spokesman said there would still be discretion for people with “high substantial needs” to get support.
The changes have come under fire from protesters who say vulnerable and disabled people will suffer.
Drink cherry juice to recover quicker
Drink cherry juice to recover quicker
Gym-goers and joggers have been advised to drink cherry juice after a study found that it helps reduce muscle damage caused by exercise.
7:00AM GMT 11 Feb 2011
Researchers gave 10 trained athletes one ounce of an antioxidant-packed cherry juice concentrate twice daily for seven days before and after an intense round of strength training.
The athletes’ recovery after the cherry juice concentrate was significantly faster compared to when they drank other juices without the same nutrient content of cherry juice.
After drinking cherry juice, athletes returned to 90 per cent of normal muscle force in 24 hours, compared to only 85 per cent of normal at the same time point without cherry juice.
This significant difference could affect an athlete’s next performance.
Researchers at Sports and Exercise Science Research Centre at London South Bank University believe that the powerful antioxidant compounds in cherry juice cut damage to athletes’ muscles – the damage that normally occurs when muscles are worked to their maximum – allowing muscles to recover more quickly.
The research is the latest linking cherries to muscle recovery.
Researchers attribute the benefits to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant compounds in the red fruit called anthocyanins, also responsible for cherries’ bright red colour.
Dr Wendy Bazilian, a registered dietitian and expert on super nutrients, said: “Cherries are what I call the ultimate superfood.
“Not only are they a perfect complement to a training routine since they are available year-round in dried, frozen and juice forms, but they taste great.”
Dr Bazilian says some of her favourite ways to include cherries in the diet range from topping dried cherries in oatmeal to enjoying a smoothie of cherry juice and low-fat yogurt.
In addition to the benefits of recovery after exercise, researchers also suggest cherries could reduce inflammation which is linked to heart disease and arthritis.
The research was published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
http://goo.gl/UbUMu
chenrezig 
annie 
JaneJ 