Author Archives: Maureen

Compulsory training for Care home staff to protect elderly

March 9, 2013   Carers, Older care

Care home staff to have compulsory training under government plans to protect elderly

Care home staff will be forced to undergo compulsory training for the first time under government plans to protect the elderly from abuse and neglect, The Telegraph can disclose.

Residents and their relatives will be able to comment on services and score them

By , Political Correspondent

9:58PM GMT 08 Mar 2013

The lack of basic requirements for training care workers is leaving frail pensioners in the hands of staff who have “no idea what they are doing”, Norman Lamb, the health minister, warned.

Proposals expected within weeks will outline national minimum standards for preparing new recruits to work in nursing homes. Carers who help with tasks such as washing and dressing elderly people in their own homes will also be required to undertake the training.

Read More

Lack of care workers forces disabled woman into care home

March 6, 2013   Carers, Multiple Sclerosis, Scotland, ukcuts

Disabled woman forced to leave home due to lack of care workers

STV

A disabled woman has been forced to leave her home because of a lack of care workers.

Kathleen Robertson, 60, had been able to live in her flat in Ellon with the help of staff from care-at-home providers, Raeburn Healthcare four times a week.

But when Raeburn announced they did not have enough staff to continue their support, Aberdeenshire Council social workers also said they could not find any workers to help her either.

Mrs Robertson, who has multiple sclerosis and is paralysed from the neck down, has been living on her own in a specially-modified flat for three years, but now she has had no choice but to lose her independence and move to nearby Auchtercrag Care Home.

Read More

Telecare aimed at families worried about elderly parents – if it works

March 5, 2013   Carers, Older care, telecare

Telecare could be the future of elderly care – if it works

A package aimed at families worried about elderly parents is being launched at a time of growing doubt about the efficacy of telehealth

elderly people

Help at Hand will soon be followed by similar services but research has suggested no benefit for telecare users. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Telecare arrives on the high street this week with the launch by O2 of a package aimed at families a bit worried about Mum or Dad. For £99 down plus £20 a month, a person gets a mobile device that connects to a 24/7 support centre, makes calls to four pre-set numbers, and sends an alert and GPS location when it thinks they may have fallen or wandered outside a programmed zone.

The launch of Help at Hand, to be followed soon by comparable products from other companies, marks a watershed in the assistive technology market. Until now, telecare has been available largely only through local councils and/or via landlines. This offers a mobile solution direct to the consumer.

Read More