Author Archives: wendy

Disability cuts will have 'devastating consequences', says Scope charity chief

July 12, 2011   Carers, disability

“The government has not been listening,”

 

The chief executive of disability charity Scope tells Amelia Gentleman that the government’s not listening

 

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of disability charity Scope, says the government has not been listening to their concerns over cuts.

Richard Hawkes is no longer able to conceal his anger with the government as it goes ahead with a package of public service reforms and cuts that he feels will have “devastating consequences” on the lives of disabled people.

When he became chief executive of Scope 18 months ago, he was determined to ensure that one of the country’s largest disability charities did not merely criticise policies; instead, he wanted to engage constructively with the government in order to promote positive solutions.

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Worries over East Lancashire Remploy sites

July 12, 2011   Carers, disability, internet

This will have concerns across the UK for other Remploy factories, what about the reconditioned computers they restore? More disabled people to lose their jobs!  A disgrace!

 

By Sam Chadderton » Reporter

 

ALMOST 50 disabled workers could lose their jobs at a manufacturing firm, according to a union.

An independent report on the future of Remploy, which provides jobs for people with disabilities, has made a number of recommendations to help find disabled people work.

But the GMB union says that if implemented, it will mean there are no prospects of the 54 factories around the country surviving without public support.

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Long hospital waits ‘on the increase’

July 12, 2011   Carers

It is unfair to leave people waiting so long if they are in pain.

By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Hospital equipment
There has been an overall drop in the number of people waiting for hospital treatment
The number of people facing “long waits” for hospital treatment in England is rising, NHS figures show.

Under the NHS Constitution, patients have a right to be seen in 18 weeks.

But there are currently 236,155 on the waiting list who have waited longer than that – a rise of 8.5% in a year, according to official data. Nearly half have waited more than six months.

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