Author Archives: Maureen

Devoted wife fears she could lose lifeline

May 22, 2012   Cancer, Carers, dementia, ukcuts

COMMITMENT … loyal wife Betty Greenwell is determined to take care of ailing husband Wilf.

By PAUL KELLY
Published on Tuesday 22 May 2012 17:30

A LOYAL wife of a dementia sufferer with cancer has told of her fears over a vital support service they could lose.

The Home Support Service provides a lifeline for Betty Greenwell, 75, of Lilburn Close, East Boldon.

Betty is a devoted carer at home for her dementia-stricken husband Wilf, 86.

The couple were both widowed when they married 13 years ago and made a pledge to care for each other ‘in sickness and in health’.

It’s a commitment loving Betty is determined to see through as her husband also battles bowel cancer.

But she is angry that the future of the support service, funded jointly by South Tyneside Council and the borough’s Primary Care Trust (PCT), is uncertain.

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Action on Stroke Month

May 22, 2012   Carers, stroke

This month saw the launch of the UK’s first Action on Stroke Month, an annual event organised by the Stroke Association and supported by the Wellcome Trust

 

The two different types of stroke –

Earlier this month, the Stroke Association launched the U.K.’s first Action on Stroke Month, an annual campaign that aims “to increase awareness of the impact of stroke and reach out to many more stroke survivors, their families and carers.”

The campaign is supported by the Wellcome Trust, which has put together a package of materials that are being published throughout the month.

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Councils ‘failing to assess needs of carers of people with autism’

May 21, 2012   autism, Carers, ukcuts

Survey finds four out of five carers have not been through assessment process that councils are obliged to provide

Only one in five carers of people with autism have ever received the local authority assessment of their needs to which they are legally entitled, according to a major survey of carers’ needs.

Of more than 5,500 carers who filled in an online survey for the National Autistic Society (NAS), 80% said they had never been through the assessment process, which local authorities are obliged to provide and which helps them obtain the right assistance. Only 26% of those who responded said they received any help at all from a council or health authority.

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