“WITHOUT a song or a dance what are we? So I say thank you for the music,” the Abba lines are being sung enthusiastically to me by around 20 people, some of whom suffer from dementia.

They have all been brought together at a group called ‘Singing for the Brain,’ by a disease that can cruelly steal away people’s most precious memories, and can be devastating for both those affected by it, and those closest to them.

Yet listening to the jubilant singing, you would not think they had a care in the world.

Carers in Surrey are getting a break.

Surrey Primary Care Trust has allocated all its government funding of £1.9 million to make sure unpaid carers get the time to have a shower, eat or take a nap during their breaks.

That’s unlike 9 out of 10 PCTS around the country, which have not yet committed their cash.

The proposals should, after consultation with GPs and carers themselves, be in place by the autumn.

http://www.964eagle.co.uk/news/local-news/469549/surrey-carers-get-a-break/