Category Archives: learning difficulties
The NHS changes today
NHS structure changes come into force
By Nick Triggle Health correspondent
The changes have proved extremely controversialGovernment reforms of the NHS in England have come into force and health leaders warn of a tough year ahead.
Monday marks the first day of the new structures.
GP-led groups have taken control of local budgets and a new board, NHS England, has started overseeing the day-to-day running of services.
The NHS Confederation said the reforms represented a big opportunity but should not be seen as a “silver bullet” for the challenges ahead.
Mike Farrar, chief executive of the confederation, which represents health managers, said the squeeze on finances and the need to rebuild public confidence after the Stafford Hospital scandal meant the NHS was facing a critical period.
Concert orchestra is in tune with Alzheimer’s
Concert orchestra is in tune with Alzheimer’s
A club which helps dementia sufferers recall old memories is being tuned to perfection with the help of the BBC Concert Orchestra.
For three dates only, four instrumentalists will be providing musical accompaniment to the workshops which not only provide stimulating experiences for Alzheimer’s patients, but also offer much-needed support and social opportunities for them and their carers.
Singing For The Brain, an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society, has been running classes in Hemel Hempstead for around two years. There are more than 11,000 people in Hertfordshire living with dementia today and across the UK the figure tops 820,000.
The foundation for the innovative project lies in groundbreaking research into the effects of music on the brain.
Why are the lives of disabled people “valued less” than those of others?
Doctors put lower value on lives of the disabled, study finds
NHS doctors are more likely to allow patients to die if they suffer from a mental disability, a damning Government-backed report suggests.
Lives of disabled ‘valued less’ in NHS, claim
By John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor
In some cases doctors may even be making orders not to resuscitate “because” patients have learning difficulties, the three-year study concludes.
In other cases, it found evidence of doctors making more “rapid” and “premature” life-and-death decisions in cases involving the disabled than other people.
People with special needs are also less likely to be diagnosed quickly with conditions such as cancer and “all aspects” of medical care were “significantly” worse for them than for the wider population, it concluded.
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