Author Archives: Maureen
Norfolk drivers raise thousands for two charities
Adam Gretton Sunday, July 14, 2013
7:39 PM
Dozens of Norfolk drivers raised thousands of pounds for a firefighters’ charity, the day after a firefighter lost his life in a blaze in Manchester.
Norfolk Driving Challenge at RAF Coltishall. Penny Clarke from Norwich takes instructuction for driving a double decker bus from instructor John Hare. PHOTO: ANTONY KELLY
Norfolk’s chief fire officer Nigel Williams said he had sent his condolences to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service following the death of Stephen Hunt in a fire at a city centre shop on Saturday.
Around 60 people took the opportunity to drive police cars, fire engines, combine harvesters and other unusual vehicles today during the Norfolk Driving Challenge.
The annual event at the former RAF Coltishall site raised in excess of £7,000, which will be split between the British Red Cross and The Fire Fighters Charity, which supports people in the fire and rescue community when they are in need.
More needs to be done to tackle social isolation
How to reduce social isolation in an age of declining social care budgets
More needs to be done to tackle social isolation, which affects many more people and puts them at greater risk of dementia
According to Age UK, the number of 55 to 64-year-olds living alone has increased by 50% since 1998. Social isolation is now thought to affect more than 1 million people in the UK, and the evidence that social isolation is a risk factor for dementia and shortens lifespan is becoming irrefutable.
While the causes of social isolation are multiple, if we are to stem the accelerating burden on social care and NHS, more needs to be done earlier to intervene for people at risk. But what are the alternatives, when local authorities face unprecedented funding cuts and have tightened their eligibility criteria for people with milder needs?
At a policy level, little is being done to extend independence in high risk groups in coming generations. Many commissioners are petrified at the projections five to 10 years from now as insufficient budgets will be there to provide care to this population. In my view, the government’s dementia strategy is inadequate as it provides limited focus on encouraging positive behaviours around cognitive health in a much larger at risk group. Yet the flipside is the public’s belief that any service, innovation or tool to enable independence should be provided by the state. This has to change.
