Andrew Motion has written a poem for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s new website, A Better Life, part of a five-year project to promote a positive agenda for older people. The poem distils fragments of lives past: red varnished toenails on a Llandudno honeymoon; “defending the realm” as a soldier then slaking its thirst as a brewer; Rowena who likes “a slice of sponge cake”. Well intentioned, the poem comes over with as much bounce as a mattress with its springs taken out.
Author Archives: Maureen
Benefits ‘cuts’ will hit cancer patients hard, say advisors
Until somebody becomes sick, they won’t understand what it’s like
Published on Tuesday 21 February 2012 12:00
CANCER patients face a bleak future in the face of changes being made to the benefits system, specialist welfare advisors in Leamington are warning.
Macmillan Cancer Support funds a Welfare Rights and Benefits Service at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Hamilton Terrace, where case workers Karen Jones and Jenny Harding aim to help cancer patients, their carers and those in palliative care deal with issues they may have to do with accessing funds, housing, dealing with employers and other welfare issues.
Older people give so much more than they take from us
While we treat the elderly as a set of symptoms and problems, we ignore what we will be one day
“Older people are not that much different from their younger selves: they want to feel valued; have contact with others; give something back and have control over their lives.” Photograph: George Shelley/ Corbis
1,000 Lives Plus project to concentrate on life after stroke
Dr Anne Freeman explains how a new 1,000 Lives Plus project will help people recover from stroke
- by Dr Anne Freeman, Western Mail
- Feb 20 2012
WHEN a person suffers a stroke, the impact on their life can be devastating.
As well as the physical trauma, many stroke survivors are left feeling emotionally vulnerable and alone when they leave hospital and return home.
This is the time when having easily accessible and appropriate services and support available in the community is vital.
And yet, many stroke survivors tell us they often feel abandoned and in a “black hole”, unsure of who to turn to for help and information.
