I didn’t know the term “carer” when I first became one in 1999, but I soon felt the effects of isolation, anxiety and depression that are commonplace when looking after someone else long term. Caring for my young adult daughter, I felt I had fallen into a parallel world where my tedious role lacked definition and was merely a necessary extension of parenting. I wrote about my experiences in the Who cares? column for Society Guardian and was subsequently invited on to the inaugural Standing Commission on Carers set up by the last government. With a rapidly ageing population, it realised that the nation’s army of unpaid carers was integral and required support to continue its vital work.
Monthly Archives: June 2012
But who looks after the carers?
GPs are at last realising that giving support early on can reduce the strain on those who care for family or friends
It is estimated that one in three adults will become a carer in the next 10 years.
Devon MP Ben Bradshaw says dementia not properly diagnosed
People suffering with dementia in south-west England are not being properly diagnosed until it is too late, a Devon MP has said.
During a House of Commons debate, Exeter’s Labour MP, Ben Bradshaw, said the region had the lowest formal diagnosis rates in England.
He added that, in Devon, only a third of patients were correctly diagnosed.
Elderly denied NHS care ‘can sue’
Wellbeing and dignity must be upheld
12 June 2012 Last updated at 11:53
By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online
Age discrimination by NHS hospitals is to be outlawed, ministers have announced.
From October, elderly patients will have the right to sue if they have been denied care based on age alone, says Care Minister Paul Burstow.
This will not mean patients can demand any treatment they want. Care decisions will still be judged according to clinical need by doctors.
But NHS staff will have a legal duty to consider wellbeing and dignity.
