Author Archives: wendy
Widow left to rely on food banks after benefit bosses cut payments
Debbie Hopley’s husband, John, was just 49, when he died from cancer last month
A widow said she was left reliant on food banks after benefits bosses cut payments and held up funeral bills two days after her husband’s death.
Debbie Hopley’s husband, John, was just 49 when he died on February 11, following a nine-year battle with cancer.
But, in the week between his death and the funeral, Mrs Hopley said she was told the money they and their two children had survived off through his illness was suddenly being stopped.
Patients 'imprisoned' in care homes, report finds
The committee said it was “very concerned by what we heard about the safeguards”
The report highlighted the case of Steven Neary, who has autism and a severe learning difficulty.
Vulnerable adults are being kept virtual prisoners in care homes because of misuse of mental health laws, a House of Lords committee says.
The report expressed serious concerns that safeguards brought in to protect vulnerable patients are actually being used to “oppress” them.
It looked at how reforms passed in 2005 are working, but called for a new system to be drawn up from scratch.
The Ministry of Justice said it welcomed the report.
Are expectations for integrating health and social care unrealistic?
Despite successive governments recognising the potential benefits of supporting older people to stay well, avoid injury and get back on their feet after a hospital admission, it has proved difficult to achieve change in practice.
That does not mean that there has been no progress. There are re-ablement and falls prevention services available in most local areas, and numerous examples of innovative projects being delivered through the third sector. However, the much called-for shift to a more preventive model is yet to become a reality.
