Author Archives: Maureen

Norwich and South Norfolk stroke survivors in call for communication support service

May 8, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, Norfolk, stroke

Wednesday, May 7, 2014
7:52 PM

Stroke survivors in Norwich and South Norfolk are calling for a communication support service to be reinstated after a loss of funding.

South Norfolk stroke support group meeting in Cafe Marzano at the Forum, Norwich. Photo: Steve Adams

The Stroke Association ran the service to help sufferers left with aphasia – a condition where people have difficulty speaking or understanding speech – learn how to talk again or use other means of communicating.

But the charity stopped providing the service in March last year after losing NHS funding.

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Care agencies ‘must ensure recruits can speak English’

May 7, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, Social care
7 May 2014 Last updated at 10:01

Recruitment agencies should ensure care workers can speak English before placing them in vulnerable people’s homes, a government adviser has said

Dr Shereen Hussein, scientific adviser to the Department of Health, told BBC Radio 5 live that poor language skills could lead to bad care and abuse.

Figures from King’s College London say 20% of care workers are migrants.

Care minister Norman Lamb said communication skills would be required for the new Care Certificate.

The brother of one dementia sufferer told the BBC his carers struggled to communicate.

‘Exceptionally difficult’Phil, whose full name we have withheld, has a 62-year-old brother with a severe form of dementia. He employed carers for 18 months to oversee the care of his brother, but grew frustrated with the quality of the staff.

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How will the care bill affect social care

April 28, 2014   Carers, Social care

The new legislation will bring huge changes, so it is important to be prepared for the forthcoming reforms to practice

‘Legislation changes of this magnitude do not happen often, so it is important that we take the time to engage with the reforms.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond

The legislative framework for social care services in England has remained unchanged for the past 40 years. Back in 2003, Andrew Cozens, then president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, spoke of “the long shadow of the Poor Law that has remained over social care to its detriment – that long shadow brings with it the armoury of measures we are still familiar with: rationing, eligibility criteria and means testing to sort out the deserving from the undeserving.” The language enshrined in current acts describes disability in terms that are uncomfortable in today’s world.

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