Monthly Archives: February 2014

Children with mental illness admitted to adult wards amid bed shortage

February 21, 2014   Carers, mental health

Acutely ill children as young as 12 years old are being admitted to adult wards

By: Information Daily Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, February 20, 2014 – 09:51
Acutely ill children as young as 12 years old are being admitted to adult wards due to bed shortages at specialist child services, a Community Care/ BBC investigation has found.

350 minors were admitted to adult mental health wards in the first nine months of the period 2013/14, up from 242 in 2011/12, data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed.

Of these minors, 12 were aged under 16 and one was just 12 years old, a situation NHS England admits is “totally unacceptable in the majority of cases”.

The investigation also found that many children were being uprooted from their communities and sent to mental health wards up to 150 miles away from home. One child was sent a record 275 miles away, leaving their Sussex home to stay in Greater Manchester.

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Respite group set up to help male carers

February 20, 2014   Carers, Uncategorized

Launch of campaign at RC Treatt to get male carers to come forward and take advantage of the support available.

Published on the 20 February 2014 11:04

Launch of campaign at RC Treatt to get male carers to come forward and take advantage of the support available.

A campaign to provide help for male family carers has been launched in Bury St Edmunds.

The group So Active noticed when it supported the Suffolk Family Carers in a respite and relaxation programme that few men came forward.

So, in partnership with Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Family Carers it last Friday launched a similar programme aimed at men.

So Active volunteer Tony Allen, whose employers R C Treatt of Bury have made a donation to support the work, said: “So many men care for someone without realising they’re a family carer and if they do, as men, we prefer not to talk about it.

“But, we’re launching a campaign that will inform men they are a family carer and offer support, respite and relaxation, in an environment they’re comfortable with.”

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How Smart Tech Will Take Care of Grandma

February 20, 2014   Alzheimer’s, Carers, Older care, Social care

Motion sensors watch an elderly man’s movement around his home

By Kiona Smith-Strickland

Lena Almquist, a Giraff robot and Malin Nilsson at the 4th Annual Elderly Festival in Örebro Sweden.

Giraffplus

February 4, 2014 12:30 PM

Motion sensors watch an elderly man’s movement around his home, looking for stumbles or extended stillness that could mean a fall or a medical emergency. Smart appliances look for changes in a woman’s routine and alert caregivers to possible distress. An automated home-safety assistant offers an Alzheimer’s patient a gentle reminder to turn off the stove before he walks away.

The great hope for senior care is that smart technology will provide an assist that helps older people live independently and stay in their homes rather than have to move to an assisted living center or nursing home. The question is, what shape will that assistance take? Out-of-the-way, non-intrusive sensors? Or actual robots, like the happy little helper in Robot & Frank? Some tech companies have already begun to design systems of both kinds.

Smart Home in a Box?

At Washington State University (WSU), computer science professor Diane Cook and psychology professor Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe have developed what they call a smart home in a box. Wall-mounted sensors monitor a person’s movement around the home, while other sensors track the status of water faucets, stovetops, and other appliances. An automated system can speak up and remind the resident to turn off the stove or alert him or her to other home safety concerns.

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