Author Archives: Maureen
Britain’s forgotten million old people
Hundreds of thousands of older people are left lonely and without any regular social contact, Jeremy Hunt will say, describing it as Britain’s “national shame”.
Hundreds of thousands of older people are ignored by society, Jeremy Hunt will say on Friday, describing the loneliness of the elderly as Britain’s “national shame”.
A “forgotten million” older people are left lonely and without any regular social contact, the Health Secretary will say, adding that Britain has “utterly failed” to confront the problem.
In a speech to care groups, Mr Hunt will call for a change in social attitudes towards the old and urge younger people to change they way they treat their parents and grandparents.
A lack of concern for the elderly contributes to low standards and mistreatment in care homes, the minister will say, suggesting that as many as 1,000 incidents of abuse and neglect are taking place every week in residential homes.
There's no cure for brain damage so why test me?
There’s no cure for brain damage so why test me?
Francesca Martinez’s War on Welfare petition calls for a new deal for disabled people
Francesca Martinez, actress and stand-up comedian, is sitting in her local pub imagining the conversation she will have with ATOS when she is reassessed for her disability benefits.
ATOS: “Hi Francesca, how is your condition improving?”
Francesca: “Oh, well it hasn’t. I’m brain-damaged.”
ATOS: “Well yes, I can see you are still wobbly.”
Francesca: “Yes I am. Well, that was a waste of taxpayers’ money, wasn’t it?”
Like thousands of people in the UK, Francesca was awarded Disability Living Allowance for life when she was a child.
But now under new changes, she will have to be reassessed. Over the next few months, an estimated 500,000 people will lose their DLA.
During her birth, her brain had been starved of oxygen, and by the time she was two she had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
“So, I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and go ‘oh I’m not wobbly any more!’” Francesca says.
“I’ve no plans to go to Lourdes. I’m not going to wake up and find I can pick up a glass of water.
