Monthly Archives: January 2013
Essex: Dementia a ‘priority’ issue for the county
Essex: Dementia a ‘priority’ issue for the county
By Emma Brennan Monday, January 14, 2013
8:00 AM
TACKLING dementia has been singled out as a “priority issue” in Essex after figures revealed the number of people with the disease in the county could soar to 35,000 by 2025.
A new report states that there are 22,300 people currently living with the condition in the county council’s catchment area.
The document, which is due to be presented to Essex County Council’s Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board on Thursday, outlines urgent measures that are being taken in response to the Government’s “Challenge on Dementia”.
Why means testing benefits is not efficient or fair
Means testing does not work like universal benefits, it denies people entitlements they have contributed to and are eligible for
There are increasing calls for means testing more benefits. These are fertile times for such proposals and they are grabbing attention. It comes at a time when the government is cutting back on public spending in the name of reducing the deficit and when more and more people are feeling the pinch and are worried about money.
Means testing has been introduced for child benefit and is now being suggested for a wider range of benefits, particularly for older people. High profile candidates have been the travel pass and the winter fuel allowance. All older people are currently entitled to these.
Is this the loneliest generation?
Carers feel lonely
Sunday 13 January 2013
Government officials have been ordered to find out exactly how lonely Britain’s population is, amid concerns that “the most isolated generation ever” will overwhelm the NHS.
The Department of Health is attempting to measure the extent of “social isolation” in the UK, after warnings that it has sparked spiralling levels of illnesses including heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia and depression.
Research has revealed that loneliness is a growing problem in the UK – particularly among the elderly – with one in three admitting that they sometimes feel lonely. Among older people, more than half live alone, 17 per cent are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week, and almost five million say the television is their main form of company.
However, the trend is expected to worsen in the coming years. The Office for National Statistics disclosed last year that the number of Britons living alone has risen to a record 7.6 million – one million more than in 1996 and amounting to almost one in three households.
But beyond the personal problems the “loneliness epidemic” presents, ministers have been put on alert over its wider impact – and financial costs. Loneliness is blamed for piling more pressure on to health and social care services, because it can increase the risk of complaints including heart disease and blood clots. Experts also believe it encourages people to exercise less and drink more – and ultimately go to hospital more often and move into residential care at an earlier stage.
