Author Archives: wendy

Cleft lip research launched in UK

March 28, 2012   Carers, Cleft lip

A cleft is a separation or split in either the upper lip or the roof of the mouth (palate) or sometimes both

By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News

 A cleft is a separation or split in either the upper lip or the roof of the mouth (palate) or sometimes both

The world’s largest research databank for cleft lip and palate is being set up in the UK to determine what causes these common conditions.

These congenital abnormalities affect 1,200 babies born in the UK each year, yet why they occur is unknown.

Parents of babies with these conditions are being encouraged to enrol in the £11m, five-year programme.

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How can health and social care be encouraged to integrate?

March 27, 2012   Carers, health, hospital

In light of the government’s health and social care reforms, will services of the future offer older people a better deal?

 

Older people account for 75% of NHS activity, so it is vital that healthcare reforms are tailored to their needs.

Older people are the biggest users of the NHS, accounting for 75% of activity. They occupy 60% of hospital beds, according to figures from the charity Age UK, and it is estimated that their health and social care needs alone account for most of the £70bn spent each year on patients with long-term conditions.

With the number of people aged over 85 expected to double in the next 25 years, it is crucial that the NHS of the future has the capacity to cope with the increased demands that this group of patients will bring. But do the planned changes for England outlined in the government’s health and social care reforms offer older people the prospect of improved services in the new-look NHS? And will the reforms produce a more integrated health and social care landscape, which encourages more holistic and seamless care for these elderly and vulnerable patients?

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Children who have kinship carers are being let down by local authorities

March 27, 2012   Carers

Kinship carers ‘being let down’

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

 

Children being cared for by family and friends who are not their parents are being let down by local authorities, a charity has said.

Family Rights Group has conducted research with Oxford University’s Centre for Family Law and Policy which, it says, shows “a major lack of support” for “kinship carers”.

The organisation says there are estimated to be 250,000 children living with family or friends in situations where they are unable to live with either of their parents for whatever reason. It found almost 44% of those surveyed said they had received no practical help from their local authority.

The charity said 95% identified at least one form of support they had needed but not received and more than 70% rated the support they had received from their local authority as poor or very poor.

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