Category Archives: ukcuts

NHS care at home for elderly and disabled quietly slashed by a third

January 14, 2014   Carers, Older care, ukcuts

Huge pressure on family carers

 

Care at home for elderly and disabled quietly slashed by a third

By , Social Affairs Editor

6:45AM GMT 14 Jan 2014

Analysis of NHS figures exposes scale of rationing of care at home for elderly and disabled as MPs scrutinise Coalition overhaul

The number of frail elderly and disabled people receiving care at home has been slashed by a third in just five years as councils have reined in spending because of pressure from budget cuts, a new study shows.

The squeeze in overall numbers receiving care in England comes at a time when the numbers of older people has been growing almost twice as fast as the general population.

Read More

New NHS drugs policy could see elderly denied treatment

January 14, 2014   Carers, health, Older care, ukcuts

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is due to change how it decides which drugs can be provided by the health service

Ian Johnston 

Thursday 09 January 2014

New drugs will only be made available on the NHS if they help people deemed to be a benefit to society under proposals that prompted fears elderly people could be denied treatment.   

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) is due to change how it decides which drugs can be provided by the health service.

Read More

Bedroom tax loophole could exempt 40,000 wrongly identified as liable

January 10, 2014   benefits, Carers, ukcuts

Housing benefit experts condemn ‘shambles’ as it emerges that DWP oversight could mean some actually profit from blunder

, and The Guardian,

Social housing bedroom tax

The bedroom tax loophole applies to working-age social housing tenants who are entitled to housing benefit. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Thousands of people have been wrongly identified as liable for the bedroom tax, including some who now face eviction or have been forced to move to a smaller property, as a result of an error by Department of Work and Pensions.

Housing experts believe as many as 40,000 people could be affected by the mistake. The DWP says it believes only a “small number” of tenants are affected, which it estimates number 5,000.

All could be eligible for refunds worth on average at least £640 per claimant and millions in aggregate.

Read More