Monthly Archives: June 2014

The hidden army of carers

June 10, 2014   Carers, dementia, Featured Article

Some 6.5m people described themselves as carers in the last Census

10 June 2014 Last updated at 09:13

Nick Triggle Health correspondent

The state of the NHS and social care system is never far from the headlines.

There are 1.4m people working for the health service and a similar number staffing care homes and providing vital home help. But these figures are dwarfed by a hidden workforce – the UK’s army of carers.

Some 6.5m people identified themselves as carers in the last Census – that’s one in eight adults in the UK. Over the next 20 years that number is expected to grow to 9m.

Some of these people are just providing a few hours care a week for someone, but significant numbers are doing much more – and according to new research need greater help.

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Five top tips for family carers revealed

June 10, 2014   Carers, Featured Article

Which? Elderly Care guide launched for Carers Week

10 June 2014

To support Carers Week, Which? Elderly Care published a new online guide to help family carers.

Our research shows that around 800,000 older people receive care in the UK at any one time and that about 80% of this is organised by family members – the carers who are the hidden backbone of the care system. To help carers plan their time, here are five top tips from our new online guide.

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Anger over decision to refuse patients MS drugs

June 9, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, Multiple Sclerosis, ukcuts

MS sufferers denied drugs which can stop patients “screaming out in pain”

File photo: A Multiple Sclerosis consultation

By , Health Editor  7:00AM BST 09 Jun 2014

Tens of thousands of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers could be denied drugs which can stop sufferers “screaming out” in pain, under new NHS recommendations, experts have warned.

Neurologists said the decision by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to reject two cannabis-based drugs for symptoms of MS could leave thousands of patients suffering “horrendous” pain and immobility.

New draft guidelines on the diagnosis and care of people with MS have rejected two drugs which have been licensed in recent years to help sufferers experiencing spasticity and mobility problems.

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