Monthly Archives: September 2014
The Norwich bus service that provides vital help for disabled people
The Norwich Door To Door community mobility bus, which transports the elderly and disabled to the supermarket.
Picture: DENISE BRADLEY
Catherine Morris-Gretton Wednesday, September 10, 2014
1:26 PM
Norwich Door to Door community bus provides a vital service for disabled people. As part of a series of features about the organisation, reporter Catherine Morris-Gretton went out on one of the buses to meet the people who rely on the service.
It may only be early September, but a group of friends who met on the Norwich Door to Door bus has already booked a Christmas meal.
Passengers also arrange their own monthly meet-ups and pass on jigsaw puzzles to each other, seeing the service as much more than just a mode of transport.
Chief medical officer: Make mental health bigger priority
Society has not recognised the prevalence of mental ill health, says Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies
9 September 2014 Last updated at 08:54
Mental health needs to be more of a priority, with targets for waiting times and more protection for funding, says England’s chief medical officer.
Dame Sally Davies said there were signs funding was being cut at a time when the cost to the economy was rising.
Her annual report said mental illness led to the loss of 70 million working days last year – up 24% since 2009.
As well as calling for greater emphasis on mental illness in the NHS, she also said employers could play a role too.
She recommended they allowed people with mental health problems the option of flexible working to keep them in employment and maintaining regular contact during sickness leave.
Funding boost will help older in people in Norwich to conquer their loneliness
Norwich is one of 15 areas in the country to benefit from a £4.5m funding boost aimed at combating social isolation and ensuring that future generations have the support they need.
Peter Walsh Monday, September 8, 2014
6:30 AM
Loneliness and social isolation, which are known to contribute to depression and poor physical health, can hit anyone – but older people are particularly at risk.
In Norwich there are currently an estimated 20,000 older people, many of whom face social exclusion due to ill health, poverty or simply because of the attitude of society towards them.
But from April 2015, and over the next six years, Getting On In Norwich, a partnership project led by Voluntary Norfolk, will receive £4,495,264 to improve the lives of its thousands of older people.
