Category Archives: Older care

University of Sunderland raising the profile of unpaid family carers

Exhibition focuses on Sunderland’s carers

Published on Thursday 21 March 2013 10:02

THE precious breaks which carers take from looking after loved ones have been captured on camera.

And the exhibition – Time Well Earned – is now on display at the University of Sunderland’s Showcase Gallery in the Priestman Building, City Campus.

The university has joined forces with the Sunderland Carers’ Centre to raise the profile of unpaid carers – people who look after family members or friends who have a long-term illness, a disability or who are elderly and frail.

Many carers juggle care with employment, and the level of care they give can often exceed a full-time job and for some it can be a 24/7 role.

The photographs show carers taking well-deserved breaks from their caring roles and the idea for the project came from Daniel Dale, who is studying a photography degree at Cleveland College of Art and Design.

Daniel first approached Sunderland Carers’ Centre to sound out his ideas and to put him in contact with carers who now feature in the exhibition.

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.

Care for the elderly is not good enough

Basic care for elderly ‘lacking’

By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Elderly patient in hospital corridor The CQC looked at standards across care homes and hospitals

Basic care for the elderly in hospitals and care homes in England is still not good enough, the regulator says.

The Care Quality Commission report, based on a snapshot of services, found about a third failed to meet all the standards for nutrition and dignity.

It cited examples of call-bells being left unanswered, bad manners and a lack support at meal times.

It comes after the NHS was criticised by the Stafford Hospital scandal public inquiry for not putting patients first.

The Stafford report, published last month, said the NHS system was more focused on corporate self-interest than getting services right.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections were carried out before those findings were released.