Monthly Archives: May 2013
Modern life causing dementia earlier, study finds
Modern life is causing people to suffer dementia earlier than ever before, a study has found, with PCs, mobile phones, chemicals and electronic devices to blame.
Researchers found a sharp rise in the deaths from dementia and other neurological disease in under-74s, and believe that the figures cannot be explained away by the fact we live longer.
Instead the “epidemic” is down to the environmental and social changes in the modern world, the authors claim.
Family blame ‘bedroom tax’ pressure for woman’s death
Family blame ‘bedroom tax’ pressure for woman’s death
The family of a woman who blamed the Government for her death in a suicide note said she was struggling to cope with paying the so-called bedroom tax, the Sunday People has reported.
Stephanie Bottrill’s relatives told the paper she was worried about how she would afford the £20 extra a week for the two under-occupied bedrooms in her home – money she owed because of the Government’s spare room subsidy policy.
Ms Bottrill, who died on May 4, left a letter to her son Steven, which said: “Don’t blame yourself for me ending my life. The only people to blame are the Government,” the paper reports.
He told the newspaper: “She was fine before the bedroom tax. It was dreamt up in London, by people in offices and big houses. They have no idea the effect it has on people like my mum.”
Every vulnerable elderly person in England will have a personal NHS worker
Elderly patients will get personal NHS worker to coordinate health care, pledges Jeremy Hunt
Health Secretary says each patient will have their own dedicated NHS worker
Sunday 12 May 2013
Every vulnerable elderly person in England will have a personal NHS worker who will be responsible for co-ordinating all their heath and care needs, the Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt promises today.
Warning in an interview with The Independent that dementia has replaced cancer as the biggest challenge facing the NHS, Mr Hunt said that the NHS must entirely overhaul the way it looks after elderly patients.
On Monday he will announce a review into all aspects of later-life care that is expected to bring forward recommendations in the autumn.
However, in advance of the review, he signalled that he expected it to result in significant change across the NHS, including:
* A shake-up of out-of-hours care to ensure that all doctors have access to detailed patient notes – no matter where or when they are treated. Local GPs will also be expected to take more responsibility for out-of-hours care in their communities.
* A single “named individual” will manage all the care needs of elderly patients – from arranging physiotherapy to home help and medical care.
